Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Oleg Smirnov. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Oleg Smirnov, a 27-year-old Tesla Project Manager, embraces volunteering as a way to explore potential careers while helping out his adopted country. Born in Russia, Oleg moved to Florida with his family when he was 14 and started dedicating his time to helping out in a hospital when he started considering life as a doctor. In college, he started volunteering with the American Red Cross. While often associated with mobile blood drives, the Red Cross has a wide variety of programs designed to help people in difficult situations.
Since 2019, Oleg has served as a Casework Coordinator, a Blood Drive Ambassador, and a Responder on the Disaster Action team. He has volunteered nearly 1,200 hours with the Red Cross across multiple states. His biggest role today is Disaster Services Duty Officer in which he answers emergency calls and coordinates response teams. As a veteran of the U.S. Army, Oleg also works closely with the military as a Red Cross volunteer for Service to the Armed Forces Officer, MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) Volunteer Lead and a Miami-Dade Military Affairs board member.
What inspires you to volunteer?
I didn’t know what profession I wanted to go into, so I started to try everything as a volunteer. My first opportunity was working at the JV Ruby Memorial Hospital ER. I was there when COVID happened, so we set up a task force, and I was the analyst for that.
In college, I was the fundraising chair for my fraternity, a Title IX coordinator, and a finance officer for my student government. I’ve also been a crisis counselor for a crisis text line and a volunteer for the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office. The underlying driving force of my life is avoiding boredom.
Tell us about your volunteer role with the American Red Cross.
As a Disaster Services Duty Officer, I get emergency calls from 9-1-1 dispatch, the fire department, or anybody else who has witnessed an emergency. I verify it’s a real call and learn about the situation. Then, I dispatch volunteers to help. Help can be financial, psychological, providing supplies, and more. For the bigger disasters, we may open a shelter. Simply put, I ensure affected families receive immediate assistance, recovery resources, and follow-up.
My supporting role is with Service to the Armed Forces where we work primarily with the military members, their spouses, and their dependents. Our mission is to ensure dependents know they have resources available to them while their loved one is deployed.
I’m also the Volunteer Lead for their MEPS program. When young people go to enlist, they take an exam and do background checks, fingerprints, interviews, and medical evaluation. Then, they take the enlistment oath. It can feel pretty long and tedious. We send somebody to ease the pressure and uncertainty by providing support, guidance, and therapy, if needed. And we coordinate communication cards, which is essential if something happens while you are deployed or on orders. In the case of a family emergency, the birth of a child, or other important news, the family would reach out to us so we could work with commanding officers to pass that message along.
Lastly, I represent the Red Cross on the Military Affairs Board where I attend meetings related to any events, memorials, or assistance veterans may need from us. A few days ago, we helped a veteran who was being deported. We’re there to make sure we get the information on time from partner government agencies and assist if we can.
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
The Red Cross has a vast number of roles in different departments that you can try out. It’s been part of my everyday life since I was 20 and was my first introduction to people who were really suffering. It stuck with me, and I’ve been with the Red Cross for over seven years now, because I’m empowered to make them feel a little better and perhaps make a difference in their lives.
What are your long-term plans or goals for your volunteer work?
My main goal is to show everyone the resources that the Red Cross has. We always respond. If we can’t help, we’ll refer you to somebody that can. No issue is too big or too small.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
As a naturalized citizen, I spent over a decade building this life for myself. Out of all the countries in the world, I’ve chosen this one, and I’ve never felt unwelcome. Throughout my journey, I’ve been supported by the people around me, by my now-fellow Americans.
The most rewarding part of this volunteer job is that I can do that for others. As a citizen and community member, we all have a certain moral obligation to help out, to make sure our society keeps functioning.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
I think society–and each of us individually–is much more good than bad, unlike what the media might tell us. I’ve witnessed firsthand that in every disaster, regardless of size or location, people come together to support each other.
Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?
I tell my younger siblings the best way to figure out what they want to do is to try it out. You can spend 10 years studying and going to med school, but you won’t have knowledge of the hospital environment. How you feel when you’re at your workplace is important. Volunteering gives you the time and space to try new things out without sacrificing too much of your career or your time.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
Take a chance. There’s always going to be a reason not to do something. There’s always going to be something in between you and the goal. And for most of us, the goal may not be so evident. If you’re interested in volunteering, try it. The biggest benefit is that you won’t wonder what would have happened if you had.
Do you want to make a difference in your community like Oleg? Find local volunteer opportunities.