The American Red Cross has a new manager at the Union Service Center and she is looking for volunteers who will help the organization grow and better serve the area.

Carol Willis began her duties on May 18. Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Red Cross office on 303 West Main St. there will be a drop-in for volunteers.

“It will be a chance for me to meet the volunteers and see if there is anybody who is interested in becoming a volunteer,” she said. “If people would like to stop by and say hello, that would be wonderful, so I can meet the community.”

A Union County native, she is the daughter of Sara Nave and the late Edward Nave and the wife of Jeff Willis. She has two children — Cameron Willlis, a junior at USC-Upstate and David Morrow, who with his wife, Becca, has a daughter, Bayla Ann.

Her career background includes working as marketing manager for Hudson Group. She also has been a columnist for The Weekly Union Grapevine.

Mrs. Willis said she has enjoyed her new job so far, and she likes getting out in the community and meeting people.

“We do a program for seniors on safety, we do CPR, we do babysitting, we do disaster preparedness classes,” she said. “We can go into churches and other organizations. I can speak to civic groups. We go into industries and plants and tell them the opportunities that we have at the Red Cross and what classes they might be interested in.”

The American Red Cross needs help in Union County. So far in this fiscal year, the Red Cross has served more than 100 people affected by fires and storms.

“We could use office volunteers, we could use disaster team volunteers,” she said.

Monetary donations are welcome.

“Union County is so giving and loving and it just takes a minimal amount of training to help,” she said.

During emergencies, the Red Cross provides shelters in Union County. Oftentimes, someone will ask if they can help out during a crisis time. In order to be a volunteer, they must first go through training.

“It takes very little time to be trained as a volunteer,” Mrs. Willis said. “Any way someone would like to help, I welcome them.”