Hollister
– Almost two decades after she was a victim of the Loma Prieta
earthquake, Jeanne Dorrance is helping others in the aftermath of
disasters.
Hollister – Almost two decades after she was a victim of the Loma Prieta earthquake, Jeanne Dorrance is helping others in the aftermath of disasters.
With a home in Los Gatos, four miles from the epicenter of the massive 1989 earthquake, the 60-year-old Dorrance said the damage and disruption of lives she witnessed – along with the response of volunteers who came from all over the country to help her and her neighbors – motivated her to become a Red Cross Disaster Action Team volunteer.
“I saw people coming from all over the country to volunteer their time to help out the victims of the earthquake,” Dorrance said.
Dorrance, who moved to San Benito County to pursue a “pastoral lifestyle,” understands the psychological roller coaster disaster victims go through.
“One of the things that’s really hard to grasp when you’re a victim is that you are a victim,” she said.
Volunteering as a Disaster Action Team member for the San Benito-Monterey Counties Chapter of the Red Cross gives Dorrance a chance to provide families immediate relief.
“It’s gratifying to me to be able to go to a family who has just lost their house to fire and give them the peace of mind that they’ll have a place to sleep that night,” Dorrance said.
Laura Kershner, public support director of Monterey-San Benito Counties American Red Cross, described Dorrance as upbeat and a wonderful representative for the organization.
“Jeanne Dorrance is a sweet lady,” Kershner said. “She’s one of our Disaster Action Team volunteers and does a great job.”
Besides volunteering for the Red Cross, Dorrance volunteers on projects with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The group meets once a month to work on a service project. The church is raising money to send wheelchairs to people in other countries.
In all, Dorrance estimated she volunteers from four to 10 hours a week, depending on what happens.
But that can change at any time, as Dorrance is ready to help on local disasters, such as home fires, and national disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina.
“You get a call in the middle of the night or afternoon and you drop whatever you’re doing,” Dorrance said.
When she is not volunteering, the retired school teacher is raising puppies and alpacas, a small llama-like animal from which she harvests soft wool. Dorrance holds a class on spinning and knitting every third Saturday of the month to show people how to use the alpaca wool.
Helping Hands is a weekly feature of the Free Lance that focuses on contributions made by individual volunteers in our community. It appears each Wednesday. If you would like to suggest someone as a profile subject, please contact Editor Mike Schmeltzer at 831-637-5566 ext. 337 or [email protected].
