Dakotah Smith, a commercial real estate broker, is new to the Red Cross Omaha-Council Bluffs chapter board. His term on the board, where he raises money and awareness for Red Cross programs, began in July. However, his connection to the Red Cross goes back nearly 20 years.
“My first major Red Cross volunteer experience was in 2005 in Austin, Texas, helping out with the evacuee shelter during Hurricane Katrina,” said Smith. “The whole convention center downtown got turned into a massive shelter operation for evacuees for weeks. I got the opportunity to log some hours helping out with that shelter and seeing the power of the Red Cross on a large scale. It was really impactful.”
Since becoming active with his local Red Cross, Smith has completed training to join the disaster action team (DAT). This team of volunteers responds to local home fires, often arriving immediately on the scene. Just last week, Smith responded to his first home fire as a DAT volunteer, providing comfort and support to someone who had experienced a home fire, while proudly wearing the Red Cross vest.
“I like to call what the Red Cross does ‘second responders’,” Smith explained. “That’s what I refer to them as. The Red Cross are the second responders and play a critical role in some everyday emergencies.”
Smith is also passionate about blood donation. At his local Red Cross, Smith recently trained and worked as a blood donor ambassador. During his high school years, a close friend was in a serious car accident and had to be flown by helicopter to the hospital. He was saved by the blood products the flight medics had on-hand. The terrible incident left an impact on Smith, and he became a regular blood donor. Upon moving to Omaha nine years ago, Smith noticed a blood donation center near his home.
“I downloaded the blood donor app, and that made it really handy to schedule appointments,” he said. “You don’t even have to think about it. Just schedule one for eight weeks out. I’ve been donating as frequently as I can.”
Shortly after joining the Omaha-Council Bluffs chapter board, Smith gave his 40th unit of blood. Those 40 units amount to five gallons of lifesaving blood.
At the age of 16, Smith became a volunteer first responder in his hometown of Round Rock, Texas. Over the past 20 years, he’s served as a firefighter, an EMT and a part of wilderness search and rescue. During that time, he’s seen the work of the Red Cross firsthand. “First responders know to tell people to call 1-800-RED CROSS during a disaster if they don’t know where they are staying that night,” he explained.
Smith’s dedication to public service goes back to his childhood and the values he was raised with.
“My dad was in the military,” he said. “I have several family members who had military service, and I always thought that helping out the community in whatever way you can just seems like a natural way of life, regardless of what your day job is.”
Smith became more involved with his local Red Cross over the last six months. He continues to work as a volunteer firefighter / EMT with the Waterloo Volunteer Fire Department, but he felt he could serve the community and surrounding areas in a different way. He explained, “Not everyone can be a volunteer first responder, but everyone can serve their community. Red Cross opportunities and all the volunteer roles they have make that accessible.”
If you are looking for an opportunity to serve your community, visit redcross.org/volunteer. There are many volunteer opportunities available near you.
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