BY MARY JANE FARMER
HERALD DEMOCRAT
David Compton's and Jennifer Bedell's hands never stopped moving as they talked about being volunteers with the American Red Cross.
Bedell sorted through boxes, took protective newspaper wrappings from around music boxes and glass figurines, dusted them off and shined them up. Then she put a pre-printed price tag on each item and set it into a shopping cart. Compton moved the carts around, sorting and unloading the items on tables already named -- collectibles, Christmas, Easter, kitchen ware, appliances, jewelry, accessories, and so on.
It was just another day these two, along with Dee and Dean Carpenter and numerous other volunteers, are spending getting ready for the Red Cross's annual fundraising garage sale.
The Carpenters, Bedell, and Compton are members of the Red Cross Board of Directors and together chair the annual garage sale. Bedell said she and Compton have worked toward this project for six years, but that the Carpenters have been involved since day one, seven years ago.
Volunteering
Volunteering with the Red Cross is an avocation that both adopted after either reaching retirement or moving to the area. Each thought it through carefully, and considered other organizations, but it was the Red Cross that drew them like a magnet to scattered nails. Why? Compton and Bedell said it was because they like helping people, and there are so many ways they can do so with the Red Cross.
Bedell said she and her husband, Don, moved to Texoma from Garland about seven years ago. She wanted to do something useful. She called the Red Cross and spoke with its director, Sharon Watson, asking if she could be used. A resounding 'Yes' was the answer.
A month later, she found herself volunteering in a tornado-struck territory of Florida, sleeping on a parking lot. Since, she has become an instructor and said that job really keeps her busy.
Compton, a retired government employee, too, found himself on a disaster response team and is used to going out to hurricane and tornado-struck areas. They both spent a month on Galveston Island two years ago, after Hurricane Ike left thousands of people without life's necessities. And at home, they work with the victims of house fires, among other missions.
"Every fire I go out to (locally) affects me," Compton said. "But also when we go out to hurricane sites, when everything has been destroyed, leaving no electricity, no gas, no grocery stores, no restaurants ... The Red Cross is one of the few places people can get hot meals. They are always so appreciative."
"(Locally) If it's a one-house fire, the people are always so appreciative of what we do," Compton said, and Bedell's hands stopped moving for a moment and she explained she suddenly got cold chills just thinking about it. The needs of displaced families are always different. Some, she said, need medication and eyeglasses pretty quickly. With the Red Cross contacts already in place, the victims are given vouchers for these items, and, of course, are often provided temporary sleeping quarters.
The local chapter of the American Red Cross has its office in Denison, and it serves Fannin, Grayson, and Cooke counties. There is a variety in the way donations are used. Donated money ear-marked for a certain use, such as the recent Haiti disaster, goes exactly and only to that work, Compton said.
Locally, Bedell added, "so many people came to the office to donate for Haitian relief." Locals from these three counties provided $65,000 specifically for Haitian relief. "We ask them where they want that money to go. If they say it goes to, for instance, victims of Hurricane Katrina, that's where it goes."
Compton talked about the need for the local fundraisers as he continued setting up for next week's garage sale, "One thing is important about the garage sale," he said. "All the money that is raised here, stays here to provide services here locally."
They all carry with them "comfort kits," which Bedell explained are little goody bags filled with hygiene products including toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoos, and such. "Things that are instant," and these are given to each displaced fire victim.
The Red Cross also assists, through its pre-arranged contacts, families of military personnel. Volunteers man a dedicated phone, and when a call comes in, such as about a death or a birth in the family, the volunteers can connect with the military who, in turn, can contact the soldier wherever he is stationed, Bedell explained.
"All of those funds come from fundraisers, such as the garage sale. None of the money raised goes for salaries," Compton stressed.
About that time, a woman brought several boxes filled with goodies. Compton took his heavy-duty flat-bed cart to her car and brought it in for her, and Bedell began the process over again.
"We don't mind donations being a little dusty or a little old," Bedell said smiling.
Then, a large Red Cross box truck drove up; three men began off-loading a sofa, shelves, a desk and other items a woman donated but couldn't transport herself. In the bed of that truck also were 25 more folding tables to be set up to hold the influx of donations yet to come, courtesy of a local business.
Having seen just about every item brought through the door, Bedell said she has her eye on several items, including a piece of jewelry that caught her fancy. Compton pointed out a Santa sleigh, and volunteer Carl Fleming said he has his eye on living room furniture, like new with recliners on each end, and a George Foreman grill. But, they, like the public, must wait until the doors open Friday morning to make their purchases.
One thing about volunteering with the Red Cross, Compton and Bedell said, is that volunteers can put in as many or as few hours as they want to or are able to. Some people work in the office, some become involved in the disaster action team, some answer phones, some, like those driving the Red Cross box truck, work when they are asked or needed, and some prefer to help with the other fundraisers, such as the Red Tie Affair or Ride for the Red.
"If a person wants to become a volunteer, you need to go to the chapter office and talk to them," Bedell said. "Tell them what you are interested in. There are courses required for some, but those are free. There's constantly a need for more willing people."
Garage sale
No matter how much other talk went on around the large garage sale room, it always came back to the garage sale. The sales room is in Midway Mall, on the west side. One storage room, Bedell said, is filled with all the boxes they've saved. They have flattened each of the plastic bags people have brought in around donations to make them fresher for shoppers on sale days. Some people bring their own. Then, on Sunday, volunteers will have collected a large bundle of paper bags with handles for a "fill it for one price" special sale, with items being marked down from their already low prices.
When it's all said and done, volunteers will then distribute any remaining, unsold donated items to three other charities that are dedicated to helping the public. Bedell said these are the Salvation Army, Goodwill, and the Resale Barn.
"The garage sale is really good for down times, like we are experiencing now in our economy," Compton said. "People can furnish their homes with little spent from this sale."
Like the volunteers themselves must do, the public should get there early Friday morning to get the best of the best, the volunteers stressed.
The garage sale runs Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Entrance is through the outside door of what used to be known as the "Goody's" store, or through the Midway Mall hallway. There will be cash registers at both doors.
Until then, Compton, Bedell, and the Carpenters are keeping up the pace and keeping that outside door open from 10-5 through Thursday.
The American Red Cross office is at 2527 State Highway 691 in Denison, and can be reached at 903-357-3499.