Volunteer Assessment

Each agency or organization has a unique set of skills and time commitments required of their volunteers. Following is a list of questions to help you decide if the American Red Cross is an appropriate place for you. This self-assessment is for your planning purposes and decision making alone. Be completely honest. Discuss your decision with the important people in your life. Remember that volunteering is a commitment. It is important to find the right place to make that commitment.

1. Do you have the time in your life now to commit to the Red Cross? Often people with good intentions are just too busy to volunteer. Too often individuals will have great intentions but are unable to follow through with their commitment. Many volunteer opportunities call for several hours of consistent time during daytime hours or availability for an on-call rotation every 4-6 weeks.

2. Is your schedule flexible enough to accommodate a commitment to the Red Cross? The American Red Cross is seeking volunteers who are responsible and reliable. We rely on volunteers to meet the needs of our clients and customers as well as fulfill administrative gaps for the organization. We count on volunteers to fulfill their promises and complete their job assignments. Without reliable volunteers, disaster victims would not receive immediate assistance and lifesaving classes would be cancelled.

3. Is your schedule flexible enough to accommodate our training process in a timely manner? Many Red Cross opportunities require that you take classes before beginning volunteering. This training sometimes requires travel to different areas. Some jobs will require the completion of multiple courses before you can begin volunteering.

4. Are you comfortable working with a wide variety of people who may be different from yourself? Volunteering for the American Red Cross involves working with people of different ages, socio-economic, cultural, racial, ethnic, religious and educational backgrounds. One of the Fundamental Principals of the American Red Cross/Red Crescent Society is neutrality.

5. Are you able to remain impartial and neutral in your volunteer work? The Red Cross has seven fundamental principles that guide us in our mission – humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. Are you able to keep your personal, religious and political beliefs separate from your role as a volunteer?

6. Do you have the qualities of a Red Cross volunteer? Typically, the individuals who have been and continue to be successful American Red Cross volunteers possess certain skills/characteristics. Do you consider yourself good at...

• Time management?
• Teamwork?
• Communication?
• Taking Initiative?
• Follow up?
• Working in stressful situations?

Thanks for taking the time to complete this assessment! If you answered yes to these six questions we encourage you to take the next step to become involved – complete our Volunteer Application(Provide link) and mail or email it to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  If you feel that the Red Cross is not the best "fit" for you, we suggest you check for other volunteer opportunities at Volunteer Match at www.volunteermatch.org