Scanning through all the organizations, Collier, a former law enforcement officer, knew that she wanted to do something to directly help people and be challenged at the same time. Then she saw the listing for the American Red Cross Dallas Area Chapter. The mission of the American Red Cross is to help people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. One of the ways the Red Cross fulfills its mission for the Dallas area is through the disaster action team. Disaster action team workers are a network of Red Cross volunteers who are trained to come together and work as part of a team when a disaster strikes.
Disasters can range from floods, tornadoes, and severe weather to local house and apartment fires.
Each of these is equally disastrous to the people affected. Disasters, such as house or apartment fires, can happen at anytime day or night. Collier was fully prepared to jump out of bed at a moment's notice. The first weekend she began volunteering on the disaster action team her preparation paid off. When she arrived on the scene her first instinct was to make sure the victims of the fire had their basic needs met.