In Case You Missed It - Oct 16

Honoring the heroes among us at the American Red Cross Gala. (Photo: Up Studios Photography)

Over the last 7 days, the Greater New York Red Cross provided emergency assistance to 41 adults and 14 children following 31 local disasters. Here are some highlights from last week and a preview of upcoming activities (see below).

Last Week in Review

• To date, we have deployed more than 280 local staff members (employees and volunteers) from the Greater NY region to the hurricane responses in Texas, the US Virgin Islands, Orlando, Florida, Georgia, and Puerto Rico; to Las Vegas for the mass shooting; and to California for the wildfires. Of these individuals 30 workers have deployed twice and 77 people remain assigned to operations. All others have completed their assignments.
• For a more personal look at these historic disaster responses, please follow: Josh Lockwood, Joe Spaccarelli, Steven Colon, Eli Russ, Cedric Davoren, Vivan Moy, Maria Milan, Gary Chin, Ronnie Rigos and Doug Bainton/DART. 
• Since early last week, Red Cross volunteers and partners have been supporting Puerto Ricans arriving at JFK with information and services. 
• On Saturday, the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY continued their support of our Home Fire Preparedness Campaign, installing 178 smoke alarms in the Bronx. 
• This past week, we held three different "Next Steps" boot camps to expedite the on-boarding of new volunteers who want to assist our response to national disasters impacting the country. Thank you to all who are willing to be a part of the Red Cross journey! 
• Last Thursday, we thanked Senior Living Options for their generous donation in support of Hurricane Maria relief efforts. 
• On Wednesday, at the American Red Cross “Heroes Among Us” Gala at the Museum of Natural History in New York City we honored amazing individuals like Delroy Lewis, Dr. Annie Sparrow and Dr. Zaher Sahloul as well as the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. Our Regional CEO Josh Lockwood could not be there, but he shared kind words about our volunteers via video. Thank you to all of our deployed volunteers making a difference around the country! 
• Thank you to our host Chris Cuomo for leading the night and sponsor Wells Fargo for helping make this gala amazing! And let’s not forget the special performance by Tinashe! 
• A few hours before the gala, we hosted a panel discussion about the humanitarian situation in Syria with the doctor honorees of the night. 
• The Indian Motorcycle Riders Group of Mineola’s “Run for the Red Cross” fundraiser was featured in the October edition of Full Throttle!

Upcoming Events and Opportunities

• Oct 22, 23, 24, 25: Red Cross blood drives will take place from 2 to 7 p.m. at the Greater NY Red Cross building located at 520 West 49th Street, Manhattan. Schedule an appointment to donate today. 
• Nov 5: Cheer on Amanda, Anastasia and Team Red Cross as they run the TCS NYC Marathon to benefit the Red Cross. 
• Oct 19, Dec 13: The Home Fire Preparedness Campaign will be in Long Island in Mastic Beach on Oct 19 and Brentwood in Dec 13 installing free smoke alarms from 10 am to 1 pm. For an appointment, please call 516-229-1086 or visit redcross.org/lifiresafety.