In Case You Missed It - May 26th

Over the last seven days, the Greater New York Red Cross provided emergency assistance to 189 adults and 90 children following 61 local disasters. Here are some highlights from last week and a preview of upcoming activities. (See below)

Last Week in Review:

• Yesterday, the Metro NY North Red Cross coordinated with the city of Yonkers to open a reception center to help displaced families after a 4 alarm fire broke out on Maple Street.
• Happy Anniversary Red Cross! Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross 140 years ago this past Friday, harnessing the American spirit of service to deliver hope and help in times of need. Thank you to Governor Andrew Cuomo and Senator Joe Addabbo for recognizing all of our volunteers who carry forth this humanitarian mission in our great state of New York and across the nation.
• Last Wednesday, the Tiffany Circle of Women Leaders held a virtual event to discuss a Post-COVID-19 New York for Non-Profits and Businesses, with Katytn Wylde, President, Partnership of New York City interviewed by Tamsen Fadal from PIX11 News. Other prominent leaders made a cameo to share their hopes in this video.
• Lawyer-Turned-Social Worker Doug McNally shared his Red Cross volunteer story following the Jackson Heights fire in one of our latest blog posts.
• Earlier this week, Patch.com wrote about upcoming local blood drives in the New York City area on June 1st and 3rd as the Red Cross tries to collect more blood before the summer.

Upcoming Events and Activities

• June 1: Join us for our virtual event - The Pillowcase Project - which is a free virtual emergency preparedness education class that teaches children (ages 7-12) about emergency preparedness and is free and open to all.
• June 7, 14: PARENTS IN GREENWICH AND WESTCHESTER: Registration is open for Safety Town! Join us virtually for a comprehensive one-week safety education program offered every summer by the American Red Cross Metro NY North Chapter. Under guidance of classroom teachers and with the help of representatives from the police, fire, EMS departments and other community helpers, children learn safety tips in a virtual classroom setting and are fitted with their own bike safety helmet that they keep. Sessions available the week of June 7th and June 14th. All sessions will be on Zoom. Registration is OPEN. Scholarships available. Visit Safetytown.givesmart.com to register today!
• June 8: Sign up for our virtual event--Prepare, Respond, Recover: What to do When Disaster Strikes and Hands Only CPR--a free training, co-hosted by Senator Alexis Weik, on what you and your community can do when an emergency occurs.

In Case You Missed It - May 18

Celebrating volunteer Margaret Sukhram for International Nurses Day.

Over the last seven days, the Greater New York Red Cross provided emergency assistance to 77 adults and 26 children following 43 local disasters. Here are some highlights from last week and a preview of upcoming activities. (See below)

Last Week in Review

• May is all about celebrating nurses! As part of our “Three Questions” blog series, we profiled longtime volunteer, and nurse practitioner, Margaret Sukhram. Wednesday, we celebrated International Nurses Day!
• Earlier this week Red Crosser Melissa Comeau, shared some life tips for all the caregivers out there.
• Our very own Maria Anguiano was among several volunteers who received a certificate of recognition for their continued service to the Red Cross and NY, as part of the Mayoral Service Recognition Program!
• We raised over $600 through our Sound the Alarm fundraiser last week, which will help families prepare for, respond to and recover from home fires across the country.
• Last week we also profiled Disaster Mental Health Volunteer Doug McNally on our blog.
• Two weeks ago, the Long Island Red Cross supported the thousands of police officers who came to pay their respects to fallen NYPD Hwy 3 PO Anastasios Tsakos at his funeral in Greenlawn, NY. The Long Island Red Cross provided canteen services in two staging areas with volunteers & ERVs.
• Patch.com reported on how the Red Cross assisted a displaced family following a fire in Glen Cove, Long Island on May 8.

Upcoming Events and Activities

• We are actively recruiting for the following volunteer positions: Youth Preparedness Volunteer and Mental Health Volunteer. Apply today at redcross.org/volunteertoday! For more information, please contact recruitmentgny@redcross.org
• We are also recruiting for a Full Time Logistics Lead Specialist Position on Long Island.
• May 19: Sign up for our virtual event--Tiffany Circle of Women Leaders: A Conversation Series--discussing a Vision of a Post-COVID-19 New York for Non-Profits and Businesses. The event features Katytn Wylde, President, Partnership of New York City interviewed by Tamsen Fadal from PIX11 News.
• May 20: Learn about how you can volunteer with a non-profit organization. Our own Andrew Sindell will be part of a panel discussion. Sign-up using this link!
• Jun 8: Sign up for our virtual event--Prepare, Respond, Recover: What to do When Disaster Strikes and Hands Only CPR--a free training, co-hosted by NY State Senator Alexis Weik, on what you and your community can do when an emergency occurs.

In Case You Missed It - May 11

Red Cross Volunteers and FDNY installing free smoke alarms in Queens.

Over the last seven days, the Greater New York Red Cross provided emergency assistance to 121 adults and 25 children following 51 local disasters. Here are some highlights from last week and a preview of upcoming activities. (See below)

Last Week in Review

• On Saturday, we celebrated World Red Cross Red Crescent Day!
• Red Cross volunteers, partnering with FDNY, “sounded the alarm” to home fire risks by installing free smoke alarms in Queens.
• On Thursday, News 12 reported the Long Island Red Cross assisted multiple families following a terrible house fire on Rockland Ave in Westbury.
• On Wednesday, Congressman Jamaal Bowman co-hosted our latest virtual presentation on how to prepare, respond and recover from local emergencies and large-scale disasters in the community.
• PIX11 reported on how the Red Cross assisted several families following a fatal fire on Park Avenue in the Concourse Village section of the Bronx.
• Earlier in the week, the National Red Cross featured our very own (and beloved) disaster mental health volunteer Dottie Brier in this post.
• Greenwich Patch.com spoke with Metro New York North Chapter CEO Stephanie Dunn Ashley to help promote fire safety as part of the Sound the Alarm initiative.
• Recently, our volunteer team Bob, Daphne, Sue, Betsy, and Ross, helped welcome blood donors who rolled up their sleeves to donate 49 units of blood at the Greenwich Country Day School.

Upcoming Events and Activities

• We are actively recruiting for licensed mental health professionals to engage with individuals and families in an attempt to mitigate the pain and suffering after disasters. For more information, please contact recruitmentgny@redcross.org.
• Jun 8: Sign up for our virtual event--Prepare, Respond, Recover: What to do When Disaster Strikes and Hands Only CPR--a free training, co-hosted by Senator Alexis Weik, on what you and your community can do when an emergency occurs.

Lawyer-Turned-Social Worker Finds New Career as Red Cross Volunteer

by Barbara Gaynes, American Red Cross in Greater NY

The fire that tore through an apartment building in Jackson Heights, Queens, last month, leaving almost 500 people homeless, was devastating. When Doug McNally, a Disaster Mental Health Specialist for the Red Cross, arrived on the scene, he met many residents struggling to cope with the aftereffects of the tragedy.

“I was assigned to go with the people back to the apartments for the first time, which was very emotional for them,” he said.

Among the victims was a 23-year-old woman who had spent her entire life in the building and whose family had lost almost everything they owned to smoke and water damage.

“She walked down the hall with me, telling me the names of her neighbors, with tears in her eyes,” he said. “Her little hallway neighborhood was destroyed.”

As a trained social worker and attorney, McNally knew that one of the best things he could offer was an empathetic ear.

"I help people in dealing with crisis,” he said. "Just to be there and to listen to them — that's the first step toward their recovery."

Since joining the Red Cross 2 ½ years ago — after going back to school at age 65 to get a Master’s in Social Work — McNally has provided emotional support to victims of both natural and man-made disasters. As coordinator of Long Island’s Rapid-Response Mental Health Team, he’s responded to fatal fires and a massive sewage spill. He’s also deployed to the scenes of heart-wrenching tragedies in other parts of the country: California wildfires, Arkansas floods and a Louisiana hurricane.

He vividly recalls a survivor of the 2018 wildfires who told of making an incredibly difficult decision in the midst of the disaster.

“It was really tragic what some of those people went through — the stories they were telling me of trying to get out of the fire. One person in particular said, ‘I saw my neighbor — he had to pull over. And I knew if I stopped I probably wouldn’t get out. So I kept going.’ And the neighbor did not get out."

Such situations show the value of having mental-health specialists on-site to listen to survivors' accounts and offer assistance, said Joe Spaccarelli, Interim CEO, American Red Cross on Long Island.

“Considering all the trauma brought on by the disasters we respond to as an organization, it’s so important to have mental health volunteers like Doug, trained to help individuals cope with these complex emotions,” Spaccarelli said. “Doug exemplifies compassion and professionalism.”

McNally, a longtime Northport, N.Y., resident and partner in a Melville law firm, found his true calling after enrolling at Stony Brook University in 2016 to get a Master’s at an age when many people are thinking of retirement. His goal was to emphasize the “counselor” part of being a counselor at law.

“To me it was a natural segue because I had focused my practice in the area of family law, estates, guardianships,” he explained. “Solving people’s legal problems was somewhat easy, but I never felt like I got to the root of their problems. I wanted to better understand what was going on and be a better counselor.”

While on campus, he participated in a simulated disaster drill that inspired him to become a Red Cross volunteer. McNally also found a way to give back to Stony Brook, using his legal background to help create — and co-teach — a popular course on forensic social work.

Now, after 40-plus years practicing law, the 69-year-old grandfather of 5 is set to retire in August. Yet he has no plans to end his Red Cross work.

“I gain so much more than I give,” McNally said of volunteering. “I just feel blessed that I’ve had an opportunity to help other people.”

Though the past year has been difficult due to COVID-19 restrictions, McNally sees a light at the end of the tunnel.

“I look to return to where we can get closer to people and not have to maintain that distance and be constantly vigilant about exposure.”

"Three Questions” with Red Cross Volunteer Margaret Sukhram

By Christine A. Gipson, American Red Cross in Greater NY

“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.

Born in British Guyana and educated in England, Margaret Sukhram is a Nurse Practitioner currently living in Long Island. She's been with the Red Cross since 2012. In addition to her work in Health Services, she also volunteers with Services to the Armed Forces, the home fire safety program, Youth Services as well as the Disaster Action Team. And she also gives of her time to other organizations, including A-1 Universal and the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute.

 
Where have you been deployed to outside of Long Island?

I have done 14 or 15 deployments in person and virtual, including Hurricane Harvey in Texas, wildfires in California and Hurricane Michael in Florida. Big local responses as well, like Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Irene. 

Which response out of all those was the most memorable?

Oh gosh, memorable? Memorable could be all of them in different ways. Each disaster is so different, but one memory stands out. There was a lady, at one of the disasters, Hurricane Michael in Florida. She wouldn't sleep at the shelter where I was working. She was sleeping in her car. She was very angry, but she would come in and talk to the nurses but not the Mental Health volunteers. We thought she needed Mental Health support. And I remember her saying, "It's like Kubler-Ross [five stages of grief ]. I'm not ready to move on. I'm still angry." So we talked and we talked and we knew where she was at, in the spectrum of Kubler-Ross. And finally after talking with her, we were able to get her to sleep in the shelter and not in the car. And she eventually was able to talk with a Mental Health counselor. And later, before she left, she said AARP offered to interview her for a story about losing her home and everything. Needless to say, a few months later she was in the AARP magazine. So that was a great thing to see us help her to build some kind of resiliency and move on. She was able to accept her situation and share her story with others. So that was a wonderful experience for me, to know that someone who was hurt in a disaster was able to build some resiliency and share her story so others would know that they are not the only ones. There are lots of different stories. Each disaster is different.

What has volunteering brought to your life?

Such richness. I feel richer everyday for volunteering. I feel gratification. I feel that I'm making a difference in people's lives. And I feel that when you are kind to people, kindness pays off. I love to see people smile. You can see relief in them when they know that people are listening to their stories. It has just brought richness to me as a person, as a human being. 

Volunteers for the Red Cross, I feel, are very special people, and I've developed great friendships with people both in different states that we keep in touch with and locally. I love to work with the Red Cross'ers because I feel that they are special people to want to donate their time and energy to this cause of helping others.

In Case You Missed It

Fairview Fire Department installed over 300 free fire alarms in 4 days.

Over the last seven days, the Greater New York Red Cross provided emergency assistance to 86 adults and 30 children following 42 local disasters. Here are some highlights from last week and a preview of upcoming activities. (See below)

Last Week in Review

• This past week, the American Red Cross in Greater NY set a goal to fundraise $2021 to support our Sound the Alarm campaign to #EndHomeFires, our nation’s most frequent disaster.
• Last week in partnership with the American Red Cross, the Fairview Fire Department installed over 300 free smoke alarms in just four days as a part of our Sound the Alarm effort to #EndHomeFires.
• On Thursday, our volunteers assisted a family of 5, providing financial assistance, emergency housing and more, following a home fire in Brooklyn.
• On Sunday, we shared that we are working alongside the Greenwich Fire Department this month to help #EndHomeFires by installing free smoke alarms in Greenwich, CT.
• Over the weekend, we shared the NFL Auction page where you can bid on Super Bowl tickets, signed memorabilia and more to support the Red Cross mission, as part of our #HeroesForHumanity virtual event.
• On Wednesday, we shared Red Cross President & CEO Gail McGovern’s story about the life-changing experience getting her COVID-19 vaccination and how the moment left her feeling reassured and safe.

Upcoming Events and Activities

• We are actively recruiting for the following volunteer positions: Youth Preparedness Volunteer and Mental Health Volunteer. Apply today at redcross.org/volunteertoday! For more information, please contact recruitmentgny@redcross.org
• May 4: From the Death Star to Ewok treatment of POWs, join the American Red Cross as we celebrate Star Wars Day by exploring some of the biggest International Humanitarian Law issues in the galaxy far far away. Register here. Questions? Email IHLyouth@redcross.org 
  
• May 5: Attend our Volunteer Information Session to learn about our open volunteer opportunities and how you can save lives by joining our team.
• May 5: Sign up for our virtual event Prepare, Respond, Recover: What to do When Disaster Strikes, a free training, co-hosted by Congressman Bowman, on what you and your community can do when an emergency occurs.