A Long Walk Leads to the Red Cross

by Mauri Shuler, American Red Cross Volunteer

Allie Stevens took a long walk on the way to the Red Cross, but now he wouldn’t be anywhere else. 

Volunteering in South Carolina, he is driving relief trucks filled with food and water for people who have been isolated or displaced by Hurricane Florence.  He loves volunteering at the Red Cross because it represents, he says, what he knows is best about this country which he said he learned by walking across it.

Allie Stevens stands in front of one of the
American Red Cross emergency response vehicles.

 “I started walking across the country to show everyone what a beautiful country this is, filled with people who care about others,” he said.

After his wife died of cancer, Stevens decided in 2009 to take time off to reflect and look at life, at a very slow pace.

Stevens walked from California to Alabama pushing a rickshaw decorated with flags, stickers, pennants and pins from police and fire departments, service clubs like the Rotary and American Legion…and his dog.

He remembers two things very clearly:

1) “Most of what kept me going during my walk was the kindness of people I met.”

2) “I kept seeing the Red Cross show up wherever people need them.  They were always there: fires, floods, even dust storms!”

Photo courtesy Allie Stevens

"You name it, the Red Cross showed up," he said.

So, now Allie Stevens shows up too.

In the past two years, he left his Mobile, Alabama home four times to deploy to other hurricanes and a massive winter freeze.  He remembers what it was like when he was living away from home, displaced, camping out and says it helps him understand the victims of these disasters.

This Vietnam-era Marine is a cancer survivor himself, who is both determined and resilient.

“When I lost my wife, I didn’t know what to do with my life," he remembered. "Now I do. I volunteer with the Red Cross because I saw them showing up to help others.  So, I’ll show up, too!”

“As long as my health holds out,” he added, smiling.

If you would like to volunteer with the Red Cross, click here to sign up.