VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT – Andrea Fregoso

Andrea Fregoso joined MRC Los Angeles in September 2009 and she has been keeping busy with the unit ever since! In the past year and a half, she has attended the H1N1 training that took place prior to the first ever deployment of MRC Los Angeles during the Department of Public Health’s Pandemic H1N1 response effort in Fall 2009; participated in the KidneyWise Walk that took place in March 2010; volunteered as a Hot Walker at both the 2010 and 2011 LA Marathons; obtained her certification at a CPR & First Aid training held by MRC Los Angeles; and attended various trainings and meetings throughout the year. One can easily tell that Andrea is focused not only on emergency preparedness and resiliency on a personal level, but on a community-minded level as well.

This is further exemplified when one learns more a little more about Andrea – and it is a busy one indeed! Having moved to Los Angeles County in 1990, she is an accountant by trade and, in addition to volunteering with MRC Los Angeles, is actively involved as a volunteer in the CERTs with USC and the LAFD as well as training with the Mayor’s Office Crisis Response Team. Furthermore, Andrea is a devoted mother to two beautiful teenagers whom she says she “hopes to encourage [in continuing] with this volunteer tradition.”

Proud to be a member of MRC Los Angeles, Andrea joined because she wanted to help people other than in emergency situations. As she herself sets an apt and shining example, she encourages all members to “participate as much as you can…because, at the end, the best pay that you can receive is a smile and a big thank you and the feeling that you can make a difference in someone’s life.” Thank YOU, Andrea – you have truly made a huge difference in MRC Los Angeles!