“I think everybody should learn CPR,” Pennie said, “and not be afraid of it. It’s a lot easier than you think to save a life.”

Alie Stone, a lifelong Oklahoman and former Red Cross employee, says her experiences and emergency plan were critical to her family’s decision to evacuate their home in Sulphur before it was destroyed by a tornado.

Two days after a tornado hit Barnsdall, Amanda Shephard visited what was left of her friends' home to salvage what memories she could. The couple was injured while protecting their children during the tornado, and Amanda didn't know if they would survive.

Heidi Luaifua's son Josiah left Hawaii at 17 for Army basic training at Fort Sill. Red Cross volunteer Petra Yahn helped Heidi adjust from on base. "Wherever [Petra] goes, she snaps photos. Those first photos especially helped me transition," Heidi said.

Vickie Myers used to live in Barnsdall. After an EF4 tornado hit, she had to help the community that has her heart. After Red Cross disaster workers invited her to work alongside them, Vickie became a Red Cross volunteer.

Volunteers and partners installed nearly 300 free smoke alarms, helped residents create escape plans and offered home fire safety information at a Sound the Alarm event. Their work made more than 160 homes at high risk of home fires safer.

The Red Cross has supported the Veterans History Project for several years, but for the first time, the region hosted an all-day interview event. Typically, volunteer teams visit veterans where they are, recording individual stories.

“I was looking for something to do – I needed to get out and meet people and help people.” Ray Schachner is a local Red Cross leader who helps train new volunteers and responds to disasters. He was honored with a Shawnee News-Star Helping Hands Award.

Did you know we’re IN the movie Twisters? Volunteers drove an emergency response vehicle to the set and spent a day as extras. Thanks to Universal Pictures’ TWISTERS for partnering with the Red Cross and asking us to be part of the film!

About two dozen coaches from school districts throughout Oklahoma got CPR and AED training ahead of the 2024-25 school year thanks to the Red Cross and the Rookie League Foundation of Oklahoma.

A youth preparedness class Sunni Frazier's kids attended led to the whole family becoming better prepared and getting involved with the Red Cross.

After he had retired, Kirk Summers was giving blood one day at the Red Cross Donor Center in Tulsa. A fellow donor asked him, "Are you bored of retirement yet?" That question sparked a new chapter in Kirk's life.