Maui Volunteer Honored with Red Cross Award

Red Cross Disaster volunteer, Aloha Smith, was awarded the American Red Cross Spirit of the Pacific Regional Award for August 2017.

The Spirit of the Pacific Regional Award is a monthly honor allocated to one to two volunteers within the American Red Cross Pacific Islands Region. Photo Courtesy

A long-time resident of Kaupō, Smith has been an active volunteer with Red Cross on Maui ever since her home burned to the ground and the Red Cross was there to help.

Smith says she immediately wanted to give back, recognizing she could help others with similar or other needs. Since then, she has taken a leadership role to assure Red Cross is represented and available in the very rural part of Maui.

The Spirit of the Pacific Regional Award is a monthly honor allocated to one to two volunteers within the American Red Cross Pacific Islands Region (which includes Hawai‘i, Guam and Saipan) who focuses on the mission of the Red Cross, which is to act with a sense of purpose, communicate in an effective way that is objective, and demonstrate integrity.

Red Cross Maui says that despite a lengthy commute to other parts of the island, Aloha is always there. She is often times the first on scene and always jumping right in to help with her positive attitude and superb work ethic.

The Spirit of the Pacific award is specifically designed to acknowledge and reward the following outstanding efforts:

· Focuses on the mission as the foundation of all their decisions, interactions, actions and activities

· Acts with a sense of purpose; having a passion for service and willingness to go above and beyond

· Communicates in an effective way that is objective, honest, consistent and collaborative

· Demonstrates integrity, dignity and respect that guides their actions and provides support that is mutual and builds trust

· Focuses on service that values and exceeds the expectations of clients, volunteers, donors and employees

· Enjoys and values working together as a team while engaging the difficult work of relieving suffering