Sharon Kesselring, the executive director of the American Red Cross of the Ohio River Valley, appears before the Wood County Commission on Monday for a proclamation declaring March as American Red Cross Month in Wood County. The commission also gave the local chapter a $5,000 donation. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG — March was declared American Red Cross Month in Wood County by the Wood County Commission Monday.

Sharon Kesselring, the executive director of the American Red Cross of the Ohio River Valley, appeared before the commission for the proclamation and to inform the commission about what the organization is doing. The American Red Cross of the Ohio River Valley serves a 19-county area, including 15 counties in West Virginia and four in Ohio, as well as a 500,000 population throughout the region.

“That is across all lines of service, including services to armed forces, disaster services, training services (for CPR and first aid) and one of the things we are most recognized for, blood services,” Kesselring said. “We are on call 24/7, seven days a week.

“We never take a holiday because disasters never take a holiday.”

In Wood County, the American Red Cross had 24 disaster responses in 2025 that were primarily home fires. In some cases, volunteers responded to help people early in the morning with emergency assistance.

That work provided assistance to 81 people locally, which was lower than previous years, Kesselring said.

“We were able to put more than $22,000 into the pockets of individuals that had suffered disasters in this county,” she said.

They had 38 families who helped with emergency messaging to service members serving around the world and got them home during an emergency situation.

They had over 176 smoke alarms installed, free of charge, throughout the county, which made 60 homes safer.

“Some of those homes received 3-5 smoke alarms, free of charge,” Kesselring said. “We trained more than 1,500 individuals with CPR and first aid training.

“We had over 3,000 units of blood collected and we currently have 91 volunteers on our rolls for all lines of service. The majority of those are on blood services.”

The Red Cross is in need of volunteers for disaster services, though it was still able to respond to flooding that occurred in the Wheeling area in the northern panhandle over the summer.

Commissioner Jimmy Colombo praised Kesselring for serving with the Red Cross for 36 years.

“You have to be proud of the work you do,” he told her. “You have to be proud of being able to react as helping people is a spontaneous action sometimes.

“You know when there is a problem where you have to be, what you have to do and who to call. I think we are fortunate to have someone with your longevity in that position.”

Although they are not, “first-responders” in many cases they are the first people that the clients see and work with, she said.

“I am very proud of the crew we have,” Kesselring said. “They are so hardworking, but they need more people to help them.”

They recently utilized the Wood County Resiliency Center during a national exercise where they had to set up four shelters in their region within two hours of receiving a call from the national Red Cross office.

“The exercise was to make sure we had enough volunteers to do it and to have the technology and training to be able to enter people into a shelter,” Kesselring said.

Wood County Commission President Blair Couch said the purpose of the Resiliency Center was to make it a “Swiss Army knife” that can handle different types of situations and disasters.

“In March, we celebrate American Red Cross Month by honoring our neighbors who make its humanitarian mission possible in Wood County, WV,” the proclamation said. “Every day, their acts of kindness change lives, bringing relief, comfort and hope when help can’t wait. This compassionate spirit runs deep in our community, just as it has for 145 years through the American Red Cross.”

The American Red Cross assists those impacted by disasters large and small; assists military members and their families; trains people in lifesaving skills such as CPR and first aid; and collects lifesaving blood for patient needs. Today, those who serve with the Ohio River Valley Chapter include a staff of more than 90% volunteers, the proclamation said.

“These collective efforts are a powerful reminder that the strength of our community lies in our shared commitment to one another,” the proclamation said. “As we mark Red Cross Month, let’s celebrate our local heroes and resolve to continue lifting each other up, so no one faces an emergency alone.”

In addition to the proclamation, the Wood County Commission approved a $5,000 donation to the American Red Cross of the Ohio River Valley.

Couch urged all of the other counties served by the local Red Cross chapter to also give.

“We challenge all of the others to find it in their hearts to give,” he said.