In Case You Missed It - Feb 24

Our volunteer providing emotional support to one of the individuals
affected by the Port Jervis Fire (Photo Courtesy - Orlando Pentrelli)

Over the last seven days, the Greater New York Red Cross provided emergency assistance to 133 adults and 42 children following 41 local disasters. Here are some highlights from last week and a preview of upcoming activities. (See below)

Last Week in Review

• Last Sunday, Red Cross team members spent the day in a District Exercise...preparing to be stronger when bringing Hope to our communities in the Greater NY Region. Thanks to our amazing teams!
• Also, on Sunday, Volunteers provided care and compassion to those families affected in Yonkers' fire. We provided immediate emergency assistance to 6 families, 26 adults, 7 children and numerous family pets. Our thoughts are with the families affected by this catastrophic incident.
• Last Friday, our Metro New York Volunteers were on scene in Port Jervis providing emergency assistance to 3 families - 6 adults, 2children and family pet - displaced by a home fire. Financials for emergency relocation and lost personals, referrals and care comfort were provided.
• Keeping residents safe is Senator Jim Gaughran’s number one priority. Last week, Senator Gaughran joined the Red Cross Greater New York chapter to participate in the program to install free smoke alarms in homes throughout his district and to help families develop emergency escape plans. Many thanks to Senator Jim Gaughran for helping us end home fires.
• Last Wednesday, our amazing Emergency Preparedness Team visited Our Lady of Victory school in Mount Vernon to teach Prepare with Pedro children’s program. These wonderful Kids engaged in a number of activities to help them understand what to do and what not to do in the event of any disaster.
• Last Tuesday, Volunteer Services team hosted another Missing Maps event with Brooklyn Tech students, creating detailed maps of vulnerable parts of the world.
• New research has found that older adults are more vulnerable and experience more casualties after natural disasters compared to other age groups. We invite you to learn more about this research here.

Upcoming Events and Opportunities

• We are actively recruiting for the following volunteer positions: Community Preparedness Education Volunteer, Disaster Action Team Member, Emergency Communications Center, Volunteer Services Screener. Apply today at www.redcross.org/volunteer! For more information, please contact recruitmentgny@redcross.org.
• Feb 29: Save the date! Join us at the Young Patrons Launch Party - Metro NY North to celebrate with us our new Young Patrons group.
• Mar 7: Join us for Share the Red, our Orientation and Volunteer Fair which will be held from 10 am to 5 pm in our Greater New York Office.
• Apr 25: Save the Date for the Metro New York North Red and White Ball!

In Case You Missed It - Feb 17

Emergency Preparedness Team  who officially launched our newest children’s program called
Prepare with Pedro in PS 23, in the Bronx. (Photo: John Waldman)

Over the last seven days, the Greater New York Red Cross provided emergency assistance to 128 adults and 52 children following 38 local disasters. Here are some highlights from last week and a preview of upcoming activities. (See below)

Last Week in Review

• Shout out to our disaster response team members for all their work this past week (and every week, for that matter). A few notable responses: 
• Last Friday night, Red Cross volunteers responded a fire in Bensonhurst. They helped seven families (29 people) with emergency housing, financial assistance, and other support. 
• Last Monday, after a fire at E. 7th Street in Manhattan, they helped 10 individuals. 
• Primrose Elementary School and the Stephanie Crispinelli Humanitarian Fund partnered with the Red Cross to put together (and donate) post-disaster comfort kits for young children. The annual event was in honor of Stephanie Crispanelli, a young humanitarian who lost her life in the Haiti Earthquake of 2010. 
• In celebration of Valentine’s Day, we shared four stories of Red Cross couples who embody caring and compassion and we sent our most heartfelt thanks to our donors, partners, and volunteers for their support of the American Red Cross. Every day they work hard to fulfill our lifesaving mission, and we couldn’t do it without them!
• Pre-Valentine's Day, in partnership with Veronica Beard, we honored women veterans with a special party complete with manicures, makeovers, and raffle prizes.
• Last Wednesday, New York Disaster Interfaith Service (NYDIS) Chief of Staff, Peter Cavadini, and Manager of Member and Partner Services, Andrés García, attended the NYC Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) General Meeting hostes here at our Greater New York HQ. Attendees discussed NYC VOAD's response capacity to developing disasters like the Puerto Rico Earthquake, Coronavirus, and last year’s Queen’s sewage event. 
• Also on Wednesday, we had a great morning at PS 23 in the Bronx kicking off “Prepared with Pedro,” our new preparedness program for kids. Thanks to News 12 The Bronx for covering and thank to all our volunteers for supporting this fun, new initiative!

Upcoming Events and Opportunities

• We are actively recruiting for the following volunteer positions: Community Preparedness Education Volunteer, Disaster Action Team Member, Emergency Communications Center, Volunteer Services Screener. Apply today at www.redcross.org/volunteer! For more information, please contact recruitmentgny@redcross.org.
• Mar 7: Join us for Share the Red, our Orientation and Volunteer Fair which will be held from 10 am to 5 pm in our Greater New York Office.
• Apr 25: Save the Date for the Metro New York North Red and White Ball!

Brooklyn Volunteer Honored by International Red Cross

by Daniel Sieberg, American Red Cross in Greater NY

In December of last year, longtime Red Cross volunteer and Brooklyn native Georgine Gorra got some shocking (yet wonderful) news: She would be among a select group of volunteers from around the world honored by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the umbrella organization representing humanitarians in 192 countries.

“I know so many people who are volunteers. I know extraordinary human beings. We’re all the same. I was quite taken aback by it [the award]. Took me a while to accept that I got it,” she said, shortly after being awarded the IFRC National Society Outstanding Volunteer honor.

Gorra, who grew up near the Verrazano Bridge, says her family was deeply involved in WWII - her father and uncles all served - though she describes it as a quiet sense of pride and service that stuck with her.

The concept of service to her own community was also instilled in her at a very young age, as she often witnessed her neighbors helping each other on a daily basis. She says she knew everyone in her community and that every single person helped each other regardless of their backgrounds. If someone passed away, neighbors left food at the door. If someone was struggling, the same thing happened.

Like many New Yorkers, Gorra was driven to volunteerism with the American Red Cross by the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and became increasingly more involved; she now volunteers her time across three areas of service including Service to the Armed Forces, Volunteer Services and Disaster Mental Health. She often balanced this volunteer work with her day job as a licensed practitioner of social work, a position she held for 35 years before retiring seven years ago.

“I believe in the human spirit and the human being’s ability to bounce back,” said Gorra. “So, I found in the Red Cross a group of people who were very like-minded. The cornerstone of the Red Cross is compassion.”

While she’s traveled to numerous regions and has met countless people affected by disaster and trauma, Gorra says it isn’t one event that’s more or less catastrophic than the other. For her, any such incident involves harm to humanity - whether it involves one person or a hundred.

Speaking about the complex emotions that disaster survivors cope with, Gorra said: “They’re in shock. Later on they may become angry. Or depressed even. It’s important to just let people start to heal and ensure that people are connected to one another - whether with their church, their family, their synagogue. And the Red Cross always tries to go the extra yard.”

At 70, Gorra has hope for the future of service and giving back. After officially receiving her IFRC award in December, she had the honor of speaking to a group of young people at the United Nations. The theme of her presentation was service.

“Although most people volunteer when they retire, I think that young people would do it,” said Gorra. “We just need to give them the invitation.”

Three Questions: Ioana Opris Deploys to Puerto Rico

"Three Questions" is an American Red Cross in Greater New York blog series featuring staff, volunteers, and partners who help carry out our humanitarian mission. Through these short interviews, we hope to shine a light on our different programs and get to know those who make this work possible. 

Ioana Opris, Disaster Workforce Engagement Manager at the American Red Cross in Greater New York, traveled to Puerto Rico last month, where 1,000+ earthquakes have damaged and destroyed homes and disrupted tens of thousands of lives since December. During her two-week deployment to the island, Ioana worked in the Information and Planning section.

Ioana has been part of the Red Cross family for over three years. She started with volunteer roles on the Disaster Response and Information and Planning teams, before taking on her current position as an employee in Workforce Engagement.

This was her fourth deployment with the American Red Cross. Her first was following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. That was followed by assignments in North Carolina (Hurricane Florence) and Northern California (Camp Fire).

Ioana, who lives in West Harlem, is originally from Romania and speaks Spanish, French, Romanian and English.

Ioana and Dr. Diego Zavala, Volunteer Information and Planning Lead who
served as Assistant Director of Information and Planning for this operation

Interviewed by Maria Sievers, American Red Cross in Greater NY

Can you talk about the impact of the earthquakes? 

The magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck Puerto Rico on January 7th and caused the damage that initiated this Red Cross Disaster Relief Operation was part of a series of tremors that began on December 28th. Aftershocks have continued since, with greatest impacts felt in the southwestern portion of the island.

The impact is complex and there are several components: Initially, people have sustained physical damage to their residences and that is a huge loss for families and communities. Unlike a hurricane or an incident that happens and then it’s done, the impact of the earthquakes is fluid, and there is the potential for additional damage to homes as aftershocks continue. 

There is a significant emotional toll due to living under the stress of continuing earthquakes, and people fear returning to their homes. Many Puerto Ricans are staying in government-run shelters, but others are choosing to stay outside their homes and have set up temporary living arrangements outdoors. It’s tough, because as the aftershocks continue, they create a constant reminder of fear now associated with going home. The needs for emotional support, mental health care and disaster spiritual care are significant.

And to put things in context, the island is still recovering from Hurricanes Maria and Irma. That has a compounding implication, not only materially but in terms of people’s emotional well-being.

What was your specific role in Puerto Rico?

I deployed as the Deputy Assistant Director of Information and Planning. The Information and Planning section covers different areas including coordination of the planning process, information management and dissemination, situational awareness, and disaster assessment. We produce documents that are not only used to plan our future actions, but also reports and products to capture data on our completed actions and current operations. We manage the process of collecting, analyzing and visualizing information and data to support internal decision-making as well as to coordinate with external partners, including government agencies.

One of the ways in which we collect situational awareness from the field is through our Disaster Assessment Teams. They collect information on damages to homes which is then used to support our clients in their recovery process and helps the Red Cross allocate resources. We also use this information to get a clearer picture of where impacts are concentrated and target our service delivery.

My primary role has been to support the Assistant Director of Planning for the local Red Cross operation. He is part of the Info and Planning team in Puerto Rico, and he and I had worked together on the response to Hurricane Maria. The secondary purpose of my deployment was to assist in building capacity for the local chapter. Response to a disaster always starts and ends locally. So, a lot of the work that we are doing here is making sure that the local team has what they need to develop their own capacity while we train even more volunteers to improve their overall planning capacity. They’ve all been doing an amazing job.

Can you share some insight on the Puerto Rican people?

Puerto Ricans are very welcoming to the Red Cross. When our teams are going out in the community they are greeted with warmth and by people who want to share their stories. In disaster, we see people who are experiencing some of the worst days of their lives, and it’s just amazing how welcoming, kind and grateful Puerto Ricans are to us for even coming. People welcome the supplies and services we are providing, but the hope spread by our teams is also so appreciated.

One thing that I see every day in headquarters is that the volunteers in Puerto Rico are absolutely incredible. There are very few deployed staff here compared to [local] volunteers, and local volunteers have been carrying this mission and they have been incredible to work with. They amaze and inspire me every time I work with them.

Ioana (seated second from the left) and her
Information and Planning team in Puerto Rico

Red Cross and Bronx Students “Prepare with Pedro”

by Chris Pyo, American Red Cross in Greater NY

Red Cross volunteers Alice Farhat and Alex Poku

On Wednesday, February 12, 2020, the American Red Cross in Greater New York launched Prepare with Pedro, a new safety program for elementary school students. As part of the event, Red Cross volunteer instructors traveled to P.S. 23 in the Tremont section of the Bronx to teach more than 200 kids (K through second grade) the steps they need to take in the event of a fire.

Among the team members who facilitated the training was Red Cross volunteer and preparedness expert Alexander Poku. “Even with kids as young as these children are, it’s important that we teach them about fire safety procedures as early as possible and have them pass the information we give them on to their parents” said Poku. “New Yorkers could face these dangers every single day, and the more we can do to educate children on how to practice safety in different scenarios, the better protected they are.”

“Prepare with Pedro” is an expansion of an existing Red Cross preparedness program for children 8 to ten years old. This new initiative features a cartoon penguin named Pedro who guides the kids through a series of fun and informative stories about emergency preparedness. Different modules feature different disasters, including home fires, hurricanes, floods and other emergencies. The Red Cross chose to bring the fire safety module to the school in the Bronx due to the high number of home fires that occur in the borough.

During the sessions, students were engaged in a number of activities to help them understand what to do and what not to do in the event of a fire (i.e. get low to the ground, never go back inside, get to safe place outside) and how to stay as calm as possible by taking deep breaths.

In Case You Missed It - Feb 10

 Red Cross volunteers came out to Long Island to install free smoke alarms 

Over the last seven days, the Greater New York Red Cross provided emergency assistance to 160 adults and 40 children following 38 local disasters. Here are some highlights from last week and a preview of upcoming activities. (See below)

Last Week in Review

• In light of the movie 1917 winning three Oscars last night, our friends at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) shared this post about their work in 1917 delivering letters between soldiers and brothers... and mothers, sisters, lovers, fathers, children.
• Over the weekend, Red Cross volunteers installed 105 alarms on Long Island. Thank you to this amazing group of people who dedicated their time to save lives!
• Last Friday, speaker of the New York State Assembly Carl E. Heastie recorded his second PSA to help us reach his constituents and advance our home fire safety campaign.
• Last Tuesday, Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, Under-Secretary General for Partnerships at the IFRC, was in NYC to speak at Fordham University’s Humanitarian Lectures Series.
• Last week, we shared images taken by our photographer Catalina Rodriguez. She recently captured the work of volunteers Mitch Kassel and Kimberly Taylor on shift with the Red Cross. Together, they assisted several residents in Queens and Brooklyn.
• Early last week, New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul lead a delegation from New York to Puerto Rico to provide support and assistance in earthquake-affected areas. As part of her trip, she met with Red Cross teams on the ground helping impacted residents.

Upcoming Events and Opportunities

• We are actively recruiting for the following volunteer positions: Community Preparedness Education Volunteer,  Disaster Action Team Member, Emergency Communications Center, Volunteer Services Screener. Apply today at www.redcross.org/volunteer! For more information, please contact recruitmentgny@redcross.org.
• Feb 10: Come join us online at 6:00 pm for our Online Volunteer Orientation to learn about how you can get involved with one of our many volunteer opportunities.
• Mar 7: Join us for Share the Red, our Orientation and Volunteer Fair which will be held from 10 am to 5 pm in our Greater New York Office.
• Apr 25: Save the Date for the Metro New York North Red and White Ball!

In Case You Missed It - Feb 3

60+ Red Cross team members at the NY State Capitol alongside local elected officials including Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo, Senator Timothy Kennedy, Senator Joseph Robach, Assemblyman Al Stripe, and Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara.

From January 27 to February 2, the Greater New York Red Cross provided emergency assistance to 134 adults and 43 children following 46 local disasters. Here are some highlights from last week and a preview of upcoming activities. (See below)

Last Week in Review

• In light of the worldwide concern about the coronavirus, here are some safety tips from the IFRC and the World Health Organization (WHO).
• Over the weekend, 40+ volunteers from our partner MIRAUSA completed disaster training in Long Island.
• Friday morning, Red Cross Metro NY North volunteers responded to a fire in Wurstboro (Sullivan County) that displaced four families (six adults and three children).
• As part of their annual 'Operation Save a Life' fire safety special, ABC Eyewitness News New York featured our work, specifically our Emergency Communications Center, in a segment entitled, 'Red Cross to the Rescue.' Check it out here. Red Cross segment starts at the 4-minute mark.
• Over a two-day period early last week, more than 60 Red Crossers from across New York state gathered together with legislators to discuss Red Cross services and disaster preparedness. Furthermore, we presented Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins with the American Red Cross Legislator of the Year Award for New York state. Congratulations and thank you to her!

Upcoming Events and Opportunities

• We are actively recruiting for the following volunteer positions: AmeriCorps Volunteer Engagement Coordinator, Community Relations Ambassador, Volunteer Recovery Caseworker, Emergency Communications Center, Volunteer Screener. Apply today at www.redcross.org/volunteer! For more information, please contact recruitmentgny@redcross.org.
• Feb 10: Come join us at our Online Volunteer Orientation to learn about how you can get involved with one of our many volunteer opportunities.
• Mar 7: Join us at Share the Red, Volunteer Fair and Open House, which will be held from 10 am to 5 pm at our Greater New York HQ.
• Apr 25: Save the Date for the Metro New York North Red and White Ball!