Why I Joined the Red Cross Young Professionals Auxiliary, by Social and Fundraising Board Chair Magen Moody

Written by Magen Moody, volunteer contributor

Magen serves the Red Cross as a Dallas Tiffany Circle Member and a DFW Young Professionals Auxiliary Board Member.

Have you ever stopped to listen to a life? Have you thought about what your life would say to someone, if they were to listen to yours? When my fast-paced day ends, I head home and am greeted by boxes that have been waiting to be unpacked since my move (let’s just say it’s been about 3 months). With the feeling that the days are getting shorter and my to-do list is getting longer, I hold the self-pity and begin my hours of unpacking.  Opening a box labeled “study,” I find a drawing that I was given by a child staying at a Red Cross shelter when her family’s house was tragically destroyed during a fire. Next, I find a tattered Red Cross hat and a disaster action team badge that my father wore the day he rescued a family from their home during a flood. Among other items, I spot a card of encouragement signed from my “Red Cross Family” that was given to me while my mother was in the hospital for a month. 

While most boxes were heavy with material items; this box was a storage place for memories and a vessel of stories from so many lives that had been touched by the American Red Cross, mine included.  

My Red Cross story began on a day when fates converged, August 10, 2010, while I was considering becoming a volunteer on the Disaster Action Team. My father was a Disaster Action Team lead, and he traveled around the Country with the American Red Cross, his most loved passion, before he passed away on August 10, 2000 in a car accident. Ten years later, it was curiosity that brought me to a page written about women leaders and philanthropists around the US who make a $10,000 commitment and, with humanitarian action and compassion, aid in the funding and founding mission of The American Red Cross. Not only was this day a memory of a lost loved one, but it was especially difficult as I was juggling responsibilities to close out my Grandfather’s Estate, who had passed away just a few months prior. Before I could continue reading about the Tiffany Circle, I received a call that I would be expecting a check in the name of my father that had been ‘undeliverable’ when closing out an account of my grandfather’s—this check would be for $10,000.

It was not a coincidence that the tenth anniversary of my father’s passing was the day that I received a check allowing me to make my Tiffany Circle investment—it was the beginning of a story that I needed to share. The day I was able to meet with the Red Cross to give my donation was August 15—the day my father would have celebrated his birthday.

It is now going on three years that I have been a member of the Tiffany Circle, and two years that I have held an elected position on the National Council.  Not only have I had the opportunity to meet, befriend and learn from these powerful and trailblazing women, but also I have had the opportunity to see the communities that are tragically destroyed by life’s emergencies and hear the stories of hopeful victims that are able to build back their lives because of the American Red Cross.

The inaugural membership of the newly formed American Red Cross Young Professionals Auxiliary is inclusive of more than 120 tenacious, compassionate, and vision focused Dallas young professionals. When I was asked to take a board position for the YPA, I hesitated as I was in and out of the hospital with my mother who was struggling with heart failure.  It was at that moment that I remembered that this is what it is about. This is why we are here. The America Red Cross is an organization intent on being first responders to the prevention and preparedness of life’s emergencies. Are we not the first responders to our own lives?

It takes immense courage, time and faith to start something new; but it takes only a room of empowered individuals to take the time to listen, and change the world.

The inaugural Red Cross YPA board brings unique fundraising and service opportunities to young professionals in the DFWarea.

With the rest of our lives ahead of us, there is not a reason to let someone else write our stories. Service provides meaning, which in turns provides memories. I am so truly grateful to have friends and mentors in my “Red Cross Family,” and I look forward to being a part of the next chapter of the American Red Cross through the Young Professionals Auxiliary!

If you are young person between the ages of 21-30 and want to learn about, experience and advocate for the American Red Cross in DFW in a special way, join us by becoming part of the Young Professionals Auxiliary. You will meet other young professionals in the DFW area who have a passion for serving their community while gaining access to special Red Cross service and social events. To learn more and complete your membership application, visit the Red Cross YPA page on our new Red Cross DFW website!

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Colliers International Dallas-Fort Worth Launches New Charity Partnership with the American Red Cross

Written by Lilly Watson, staff contributor

When asked what motivates Mary Stoner Yost to strive for her best in all of her professional and personal projects, Mary sums it up simply: “My motto is, ‘You only live once. This is not a dress rehearsal.’ I think we should make the best use of our time here and leave the world a better place."

Mary Stoner Yost, executive vice president at Colliers International, is now uniting her professional career as a service-led commercial real estate broker and her volunteer experience to inspire other with her motto and encourage an attitude of giving in her coworkers. 

The real estate company has named the American Red Cross North Texas Region as their workplace charity of choice, which begin an exciting partnership featuring volunteer and fundraising opportunities as well as unique programming and educational opportunities from the Red Cross for Colliers staff.

The partnership kicked off with a tour of the American Red Cross facilities and an opportunity to learn about the programs and services that the Red Cross provides. They also engaged their staff and the tenants of Granite’s Park17 to participate in an office blood drive benefitting the Red Cross during their nationwide call for emergency blood donations on June 28. Colliers’ clients, colleagues, friends and family gathered on July 11 at  the House of Blues, with all proceeds from admission benefitting the American Red Cross. A $10 entry fee covered appetizers and the first round of drinks.

Mary Stoner Yost (left) with American Red Cross North Texas Region CEO
T.D. Smyers (center) and YPA President Caroline Hurley (right)

“One of the core values of Colliers is community and another one is fun,” Yost said as she shared all of the Red Cross events on their office calendar. “We really feel like we need to live our values every day and part of that is by giving back to the community.”

Colliers employees in Dallas will also get to participate in a compression-only CPR class, an emergency hygiene kit donation and assembly party and in the fall, employees will sign holiday cards to be distributed to servicemen and women as well as veterans through the American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes program.

Yost initially found a place for her time and talents with the American Red Cross Tiffany Circle Society of Women Leaders, a national group of women who make annual financial contributions to their area chapters and help develop new ways of fundraising and serving the public during times of disaster. Alongside her long-time friend, Suzy Bashore, they now both serve as co-chairs.

“I thought, ‘People lose everything in a house fire or other disaster. Where do they go and what do they do? If it wasn’t for the Red Cross, who would be providing these services?’” she explained, “Learning more about the Red Cross and how it is completely relying on donors to do this work drew me in.”

Through the Tiffany Circle, Yost was able to work on one of her favorite Red Cross projects, a stuffed dog named Piper the Puppy. Piper is given to someone going through a disaster that needs something soft and special to hold onto. Piper the Puppy is purchased through a $100 tax-deductible gift to the Red Cross. The donor’s name is written on Piper’s footpad and a card is sent when Piper deploys to a disaster to let its purchaser know that their gift is tucked into the arms of a disaster victim.

“Piper was brainstormed here in Dallas by two good friends of mine, Tiffany Circle co-chair Suzy Bashore and Phebe Phillips,” Yost said. “When you think about a child who has lost everything – their toy box, their home, everything – you think about what they possibly have to hold on to that will give them hope. They’re scared and maybe they’re cold, and giving a child a Piper the Puppy is an automatic good, soft touch and feel for them and provides comfort.”

Yost hopes that by making a connection with the Red Cross easily accessible to her coworkers, many will continue to support the organization outside of the work place. She now serves as a mentor to the newly formed American Red Cross Young Professionals Auxiliary of DFW, a group for young professionals ages 21-30 who are looking for unique networking, service and social opportunities in the Metroplex.

“I think it’s important to bring the next generation of young professionals into the charitable world so they can get an idea of how to serve on a board, what you do on a committee and the structure of an organization,” Yost said when asked about her inspiration for helping with the launch of the auxiliary. “I remember when I was young and getting in the business. I never forgot the people that helped me when I was in my early twenties to get involved in both industry and charitable organizations and to give back to our community at an early age.”

Yost's legacy with the organization is being created through the lives she introduces to the Red Cross. Each one of these individuals can now experience the mission and choose to leave a lasting impression on their neighbors and community because of the partnership she helped create. 

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Honoring a Family's Legacy

Magen Moody

Not many 23-year-olds would consider themselves philanthropists. But that’s how Magen Moody could be described.

She is a member of the American Red Cross Tiffany Circle, an annual giving society for woman philanthropists and leaders.

Magen decided to join the Tiffany Circle on a day when fates converged.

Red Cross Memories

Magen’s father, Daryl, passed away when she was 13. Through the years, her mother would talk about Mr. Moody’s dedication to the American Red Cross and the many states they travelled to assist victims of natural disasters.

Daryl had always been one to help others; he was active in several organizations throughout his youth, and an Eagle Scout at only 15. The passion for the American Red Cross was evident in every story Magen has learned of her parents, especially her father, whose early career with the organization moved him and his wife, Debra, from Dallas, Texas, to Peoria, Illinois, in the late 1970’s.

Debra Moody talks about going to disaster sites with her husband and, as a volunteer, providing Red Cross services such as passing out sandwiches from the back of a truck to disaster victims and emergency responders.

Magen remembers the love her father had for the American Red Cross and enjoys sharing these memories.

She thanks her mother for not only being her strength and comfort, but for keeping these memories alive over the years since Daryl’s passing. Because Magen was in junior high at this time, Debra set up a scholarship fund for students attending Magen’s school in honor of Daryl’s association with the organization and also requested that any donation to the family be made to the American Red Cross in his memory.

Discovering the Tiffany Circle

Magen currently holds a marketing position with Gold’s Gym International at their corporate office in Texas, while continuing her graduate education in the evening. Magen’s busy schedule became even more hectic when her grandfather Moody passed away last year, leaving her the responsibilities of the only surviving next of kin.

On the tenth anniversary of her dad’s passing, Magen was reading an article kept among the family’s memorabilia about a tragic Illinois flood at which Daryl assisted. The tenth anniversary fell in August of 2010, and Magen thought it was the perfect time to look for volunteer opportunities that would also involve her in the Red Cross.

While browsing through volunteer opportunities, she found an article on women leaders who support their local Red Cross through philanthropy and fundraising. The group was called the American Red Cross Tiffany Circle; annual membership was $10,000.

Before Magen could finish reading the page, her attorney called, saying there was an additional check for $10,000 coming back to her in the name of her grandfather’s last beneficiary, her father.

“In the event of first learning about the Tiffany Circle, and receiving this call about a check in the name of my father on the day of his passing ten years ago—I knew exactly where it needed to be,” Magen says.

Sharing the Red Cross Experience

Several phone calls and an email later, Magen was at the Dallas Area Chapter of the Red Cross signing on as a Tiffany Circle member. The day happened to be August 10, her father’s birthday.

Magen speaks of the “immense patronage, passion and determination it takes to rebuild an individual’s confidence following a disaster”, and how much she values “being a part of a global community intent on the empowerment of others.”

Donations by members of the Tiffany Circle help ensure Red Cross chapters continue to have the ability to train volunteers to respond to disasters, help military families reach loved ones in an emergency and enable chapters to teach individuals and families to prevent, prepare for and respond to everyday emergencies. The women of the Tiffany Circle make up an ever-growing 500 members in the United States who have helped raise more than $13 million.

Magen speaks of her pride in belonging to a group of women who “have no boundaries to the number of lives changed and legacies built” through their service to the Red Cross.

She speaks of being part of a group of women committed to a mission that has historically been fulfilled by women, and recalls vintage American Red Cross postcards illustrating women at the forefront of wars in which their families were called upon to defend the nation. Magen says she is honored and blessed having an opportunity to work with the women of the Tiffany Circle in “creating and defining the next chapter in the history of the American Red Cross.”

Most of all, Magen speaks of how the Red Cross has allowed her to follow her mother’s example of growth and leadership with a purpose, and her father’s example of service. “The man that in my eyes was simply dad was actually a hero; he touched the lives of so many,” Magen says.

“Dad shared his Red Cross experience with my mother over the course of his life,” Magen continues, “and he is now sharing it with me, throughout the course of my life. I have had the opportunity to become part of an organization that has inspired a legacy to my family and rebuilt the relationship I had with my father, as if he were here himself.”

Magen has since been asked to share her story at local Tiffany Circle events and speak on young women in philanthropy with the Tiffany Circle National Council. She says she looks forward to her involvement with the American Red Cross and continued support of the Tiffany Circle.

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Piper the Puppy Makes Public Debut

It was an exciting day here at the American Red Cross-Dallas Area Chapter as “Piper the Puppy” made his public debut. Suzy Bashore, the idea generator for “Piper the Puppy” and a member of the American Red Cross Tiffany Circle Society of Women Leaders in Dallas, joined local Red Cross volunteers as “Piper the Puppy” was loaded onto an American Red Cross Disaster Relief Vehicle for the first time today.

“Piper the Puppy” is our newest and cutest tool to help local children affected by disaster. For a $100 donation, you can adopt a “Piper the Puppy” to be given out to a child at the next local disaster. As a donor, you can choose to be notified when your “Piper the Puppy” is handed to a child. Not only will your “Piper the Puppy” bring comfort to local children affected by a disaster, it will allow us to provide shelter, three meals, a cot, two blankets and basic hygiene items for one day.

Sponsor your “Piper the Puppy” today and put a smile on a child's face tomorrow!

How Piper the Puppy Works

• You make a $100 donation to the American Red Cross-Dallas Area Chapter.
• The Red Cross writes your name on Piper’s paw and then places him on one of our Disaster Relief Vehicles.
• Volunteers hand out your “Piper the Puppy” to a child affected by a disaster.
• An alert is sent to you when your Piper has been distributed.
• You feel great knowing that your “Piper the Puppy” is being loved by a child in need.

More Photos from Piper's Debut

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