WINTERSVILLE — The American Red Cross Ohio River Valley Chapter is inviting people to an informational session from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Friday to learn about volunteering for the community, a representative said.

Sharon Kesselring, executive director of the American Red Cross of the Ohio River Valley, said the chapter is looking for residents of Jefferson County to attend the session and become Disaster Action Team volunteers.

The session will be at 143 Canton Road in Wintersville at the Cedar One Realty building. Attendees should use the lower level entrance to enter the American Red Cross Satellite Office.

“The American Red Cross is a humanitarian organization,” Kesselring said, “and our mission is to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of our volunteers and the generosity of our donors.”

Disasters the organization responds to include events like home fires, ice storms, explosions, wind damage and floods, Kesselring said.

For the Disaster Action Team, volunteers can go on call, sometimes for up to a week. They become available around the clock, responding to disasters in the county and meeting with clients so as to address their needs following the disaster.

Kesselring said the teams “are authorized and empowered to have provide direct financial assistance to those who are experiencing that disaster” in addition to talking through and meeting their immediate needs.

Volunteers can also connect clients with other Red Cross services to meet health, mental or spiritual needs, if necessary. If the client’s needs are outside of Red Cross’ scope, Kesselring said, the clients can be directed to external services.

“It’s possible that (volunteers) could go a whole week while they’re on call and not receive any kind of request for service,” Kesselring said. “(Though we might) ask that volunteer to do some additional work in the area, which may include preparedness training or helping us to install free smoke alarms … just a lot of different things (the team) covers.”

Kesselring said the chapter is looking for as many volunteers as possible to not rely on only a few volunteers all the time. Specifically in the Ohio River Valley Chapter, Kesselring said, the workforce is 98 percent comprised of volunteers.

Kesselring said it is best when volunteers from Jefferson County help others within the county because “neighbors helping neighbors” makes for the best experience. However, volunteers can offer to go on call in other areas of the chapter or in the region, which covers 77 counties.

“If you talk to a Red Cross volunteer,” Kesselring said, “what you will hear is about the satisfaction they get knowing they made a difference in that person’s life, what is possibly the darkest day they’ve had in their lives.

“The feeling they get from being able to help someone who’s feeling so down (and helping them to) know that people care — they love being a part of that impact in their lives.”

At the session, the current disaster program manager and specialist will be available to chat with those interested in volunteering and to answer any questions.

Attendees should arrive at around 11 a.m., though they can be accepted at any time between then and 3 p.m. For information, one can contact Ra Lene Henthorn, disaster program specialist, at ralene.henthorn@redcross.org or (304) 232-0711.

The American Red Cross is a United Way agency.