t r o
Hardly A Vacation
.
Two local women volunteer with
Red Cross in hurricane-hit Florida.
Shelli Liebman Dorfman
N
al headquarters in Washington,
D.C.
"We didn't know where we
of many suburban busi-
would go after D.C., but we
ness owners or recent
packed sleeping bags, towels,
college graduates have
soap and clothes for tropical
reason to use words like "deploy," •weather. We assumed we'd be
"emergency hotline" and
going to the hurricane areas of
"debriefing." -
Mississippi or Louisiana:' Suzi
But Suzi Colman and her 23-
said.
year old stepdaughter, Jessica
"During the first nine nights of
Colman, use those words to
our deployment [including four
describe assisting hurricane vic-
in Washington], I slept in seven
tims on behalf of the American
different beds:' Suzi said.
Red Cross.
"Actually, one night it was on
"Right after Katrina hit, we
the floor:"
knew there were people who
But whatever the situation, the
needed our help, so we volun-
Red Cross covers volunteers'
teered," said Suzi, of Commerce
costs for travel, housing and
Township.
food. In Washington, they fielded
Jessica had just returned home
phone calls from Red Cross
from a year teaching English in
chapters about hurricanes
Japan following her Michigan State Katrina and Rita and worked to
University graduation. "I thought
reunify families.
since I was job hunting and not in
school, and didn't have a family to
care for, it would be selfish of me
Florida Bound
not to volunteer," she said.
The volunteers sat in on the
Jessica lives in West Bloom-
briefing the day Hurricane
field, with either her mom and
Wilma hit, later learning south
- stepfather, Marcy Tucker and
Florida would be their next stop.
Marty Rosenfeld, or with her
In Miami, Suzi and Jessica
dad, Jon, and Suzi.
trained case workers to work
After 20 hours of training in
with hurricane victims.
Washtenaw County, Suzi and
While in Miami, Suzi and
Jessica were deployed in late
Jessica unexpectedly helped out
October to the Red Cross nation-
Staff Writer
32
a grodp of people not on their
Red Cross list. In Hallandale,
Suzi's parents, former Detroiters
Terezia and Zoltan Beer, were
going through their own hurri-
cane ordeal.
"They had no power, there was
no gas, no way to get groceries:'
Suzi said. "It was such a coinci-
dence that we were so close to
them so we made a stop at Wal-
Mart and shopped for fresh pro-
duce and groceries for my par-
ents and for four other families
who live in their building."
Suzi and Jessica then went to
Naples on Florida's southern Gulf
Coast to work in the Everglades.
"We did 'outreach, going into
people's homes, assessing hurri-
cane damage and issuing debit
cards so they could fix up their
place or buy food or clothing:'
Suzi said. •
"Seeing tears in their eyes,
hearing their stories and just
seeing how thankful they were to
be alive, regardless of how their
homes looked, certainly was an
eye-opening experience and
made me feel so fortunate
Jessica said.
Both women will remain
active with the Red Cross.
Suzi has signed on with the
Oakland and Wayne County Red
Cross Disaster Action Team to
•
help out locally during major
fires or a tornado.
She says the flexibility of self-
employment allowed her to be
away from home for nearly three
weeks. "My husband, Jon, was
100 percent supportive," she said.
"He even kept my promotional
products business going when he
got home at night, which I know
wasn't fun.
"The whole experience was so
rewarding," she said. "I know I
touched people's lives and I
know I made a difference, but
personally being able to help
allowed me to get so much out of
it, too." ❑
Clockwise from upper left:
Hurricance Wilma devastated
parts of Florida
Jessica Colman in front of over-
turned mobile home
Jessica and Suzi Colman after
the hurricane
To volunteer with the
American Red Cross, contact
the Southeastern Michigan
Chapter, (313) 833-4440 or
mktgsem@usa.redcross.org.
November 24 2005 -v-a