Worthington Named Maui Red Cross Volunteer of the Year

By Wendy  Osher

Tom Worthington, Maui Red Cross Volunteer of the Year. Courtesy photo. The Red Cross depends on public contributions to carry out its lifesaving mission. To help the local chapter of the Hawaii Red Cross, contributions can be made out to American Red Cross, Maui County Office, 45 North Market Street, Suite A, Wailuku, HI 96793. To make a secure online donation, visit www.hawaiiredcross.org; or call: (808) 244-0051.

The Hawai’i Chapter of the American Red Cross will honor Maui resident Tom Worthington as the Maui Red Cross Volunteer of the Year.

Worthington will be recognized during an agency breakfast over the weekend along with nine other volunteer heroes across the state. The ten honorees will also be featured throughout the week in segments to air on the Sunrise edition of Hawaii News Now.

Worthington has been a disaster volunteer on Maui since 2006.  He has served as a hotline operator, assisted in opening shelters during local disasters, and taught classes to volunteer responders.

In addition to his work on Maui, he as also been deployed for disaster response throughout the nation, where he has lent his expertise in technology.

His work on the mainland and overseas has included three to six week deployments in Oklahoma, Texas, California, Arkansas, Louisiana and American Samoa.

During his deployments, Worthington and his team are the first people at the response area in the morning to ensure the network is running and the last to leave at night.  The crew ensures communication is up and running so that people seeking assistance can be helped.

Due to his skills and knowledge, Worthington got involved with international projects and training and is now a member of the American Information Technology and Telecommunication Emergency Response Unit.

According to officials at the Red Cross, Worthington is currently involved in a capacity building mission in Bangladesh, helping the Red Cross to replace and rehabilitate a radio communications network.  The system provides emergency communications for the Cyclone Preparedness Program between the capital in Dhaka and remote isolated villages along the Bay of Bengal.

The Red Cross is a non-profit humanitarian organization which provides assistance for immediate emergency needs of those affected by disasters.  All Red Cross assistance to disaster victims is free.