Mariemont resident Jackie Pickering was honored in January 2007 with the American Red Cross's 50-Year Volunteer Award. Volunteering has led Jackie Pickering into some offbeat locations. A volunteer for the American Red Cross, the Mariemont resident says she's been to people's homes, checked blood pressures in church basements and even worked in a flood zone. "I've been everywhere," said Pickering with a laugh. In January, the American Red Cross honored Pickering for her half century of volunteer contributions with its 50-Year Volunteer Award. "It was wonderful," Pickering said of the pin and dozen long-stemmed roses she received. "I feel very proud to have done that much for them." Although nearly 3,000 volunteers assist the Cincinnati American Red Cross branch each year, Pickering's service is unique, says spokesman Whitney Ellis. "It's very seldom our volunteers reach 50 years," he said. "This was a feat in itself." A registered nurse, Pickering says she looked for volunteer opportunities to use her nursing skills when she moved to Mariemont in the late 1950s. At first, she did hospice care but found it difficult to handle. Then she discovered the American Red Cross. "I thought it was something I could handle and do well," she said. "The Red Cross seemed to fill a need." Pickering started by leading classes for expectant parents, a course now no longer offered by the organization. She says she tried to make her classes not only informational, but fun. "I always had a wonderful response and a high return rate of fathers," she quipped. "And I was pregnant half the time I was teaching it." Despite the responsibilities of raising four children, Pickering says she always found time to volunteer, donating her services to assisting the agency with homecare, CPR training courses and blood pressure screenings. But it was becoming a disaster relief nurse that most affected Pickering. After a flood in the late 1960s washed away a Loveland trailer park, Pickering was called upon to assist the survivors. She provided nursing care and coordinated in food donations. "They had nothing but the clothes on their back," she said of the residents. "It was really worthwhile. Despite a hip replacement and other health-related problems, Pickering still finds time to volunteer with the agency. She now helps to make care packages for nursing home residents and other shut-ins. "The value of volunteers cannot be overstated," said Paula McIntosh, senior group manager for the Cincinnati American Red Cross. "We don't have the paid staff to run all the events we offer so we rely heavily on our volunteers to do dozens of jobs. "People like Jackie demonstrate the depth of commitment to an organization."