In Case You Missed It

Red Crossers enjoying Mets game courtesy of LI Red Cross Board Member Ming Chiang.

Over the last seven days, the Greater New York Red Cross provided emergency assistance to 96 adults and 37 children for 42 local disaster responses. Here are some highlights from last week and a preview of upcoming activities. (See below)

Last Week in Review

• Since late last week the Greater NY Red Cross has been supporting our organization’s response to Hurricane Ida. Learn more about the response to this devastating storm.
• Over the weekend, News 12 spoke to LI Red Cross volunteer Bruce Vesloski on his way down to the Gulf in a Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle.
• CBS New York was among many news outlets who spoke to our Red Cross colleagues from Greater NY about Hurricane Ida.
• A big THANK YOU to Long Island board member Ming Chiang for inviting our volunteers to enjoy Taiwan Day at Citi Field for a Mets game.
• Thank you Bruce and Bob for their hard work readying our cots (used in advance of Tropical Storm Henri) for the next major disaster.
• Last week we released the second episode of our third podcast season featuring a few volunteers who joined the Red Cross in the wake of 9/11. The episode is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and iHeart by search “Red Cross NY.”

Upcoming Events and Activities

• Sign up to donate blood during the 20th Anniversary 9/11 Week of Remembrance Blood Drives:
• Sept 7: American Red Cross in Greater NY HQ, 520 W 49th Street, New York, NY
• Sept 8: Adam Clayton Powell Building, 163 W 125th Street #508, New York, NY
• Sept 8: Paramount Hudson Valley, 1008 Brown Street, Peekskill, NY
• Sept 8: Stamford Church of Christ, 1264 High Ridge Road, Stamford, CT
• Sept 10: The City of White Plains ,
• Sept 10: YMCA of Greenwich, 50 East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT
• Sept 8: We’re livestreaming an online disaster preparedness seminar in partnership with NY State Senator Phil Boyle.
• Sept 13: Free Virtual CPR & AED Training with NY State Senators Kaplan & Kaminsky.
• Sept 14: Learn about our many volunteer opportunities and how you can apply by attending our Disaster Volunteer Information Session livestream.
• Sept 15, 29: Join us for a virtual preparedness presentation--Prepare, Respond and Recover: What to do when disaster strikes—in partnership with NY State Senator Anthony Palumbo and NY State Rep. Harry Arora.
• We’re looking for two full-time NYC Civic Corps members: Regional Youth Coordinator and Volunteer Engagement Coordinator (includes paid-stipend, health insurance, transportation and more)
• We’re looking for volunteers to help staff disaster shelters, with a specific need for health professionals. Apply today at redcross.org/volunteertoday! For more information, please contact recruimtent@redcross.org.

9/11 Reflections from Greater New York Red Cross CEO

On September 11, 2001 I was on the #4 Train on my way back to my home in Brooklyn from a breakfast meeting in Midtown earlier that morning. I was going to get my suitcase at home and then grab a cab to LaGuardia to head to an out of town business meeting in Colorado.

Just as the train pulled into Fulton Street (under the WTC) around 9:30am, it came to a halt and we just sat there with no information because cell phones did not work underground in those days. After a time, the doors to the train opened and several people covered in ash and blood boarded the train in panic and told us that two commercial airliners had crashed into the Twin Towers.

They finally allowed the train to move forward to the Brooklyn Bridge station and then told us to evacuate. As I left the train station – the dust and ash in the air made it look like a blizzard and as I looked back, I saw the Twin Towers collapsing as if it were a melting wedding cake. In a state of shock and disbelief, I crossed the Brooklyn Bridge on foot and walked to my home in Carroll Gardens. As I was walking towards my home, I saw memos and other papers that had blown across the river from the impact of the explosion in the tree in my garden. They were from Cantor Fitzgerald, one of the businesses that were decimated during the attack.

When my husband finally got home that evening, the first thing we agreed on was to go to the Red Cross Blood collection site then in Brooklyn Heights to donate blood to the victims. The line was long and the Red Cross volunteers came out and told us they were not collecting because sadly, the hospitals were not admitting any survivors. In the days that followed, I made a donation to the Red Cross and also brought some batteries to a Red Cross station near the site. What haunts me to this day, are all the posters that were placed all over the city for people looking for loved ones. I will never forget that day for the rest of life and I am so glad that the Red Cross was there to help and is helping us to commemorate that unspeakable tragedy.

Mary J. Barneby

In Case You Missed It

Red Cross distributing clean-up kits in Staten Island and Mamaronek after Hurricane Henri. (Photo: Eli Dardis)

Over the last seven days, the Greater New York Red Cross provided emergency assistance to 121 adults and 37 children for 62 local disaster responses. Here are some highlights from last week and a preview of upcoming activities. (See below)

Last Week in Review

• Thank you to all our volunteers who answered the call over the past several days and supported our Henri relief operation, by staging supplies and setting up shelters in advance of the storm.
• Yesterday, Red Cross volunteers distributed clean-up kits in Staten Island and Mamaronek after localized flooding due to Tropical Storm Henri.
• Saturday evening, we opened six shelters on Long Island in advance of the storm. We had many more on standby.
• Early morning yesterday, our very own Metro NY North CEO Stephanie Dunn Ashley gave an early morning update to News 12 Westchester on the response to Hurricane Henri.
• Late last week, our colleagues Craig Cooper and Liz Barker spoke with KJOY FM on Long Island about the need for volunteers.
• Last Friday, we posted a news story about Ethan Chiu, a rising high school senior recently appointed to the American Red Cross National Youth Council.
• On #WorldHumanitarianDay, we once again recognized Dr. Joseph Prewitt Diaz and his decades of service by sharing our recent podcast conversation with him.
• From August 7-14, the Greater NY Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces Team supported the 40th Annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games in New York City. Our volunteer photographer Kevin Suttlehan captured these amazing photographs.
• Last Monday, we held a Facebook livestream presentation on how to prepare, respond and recover from local emergencies and large-scale disasters in your community, co-hosted by US Congressman Andrew Garbarino.
• We recently launched season three of our podcast! Click here to listen to the first episode. You can also subscribe on iTunes, Spotify and iHeart Radio by searching “Red Cross NY.”

Upcoming Events and Activities

• We’re looking for 2 full-time NYC Civic Corps members: Regional Youth Coordinator and Volunteer Engagement Coordinator (includes paid-stipend, health insurance, transportation and more)
• We’re looking for volunteers to help staff disaster shelters, with a specific need for health professionals. Apply today at redcross.org/volunteertoday! For more information, please contact recruimtent@redcross.org.
• The American Red Cross has issued a call for blood. We are experiencing a critical need for blood donors to help us save lives. Find a blood drive near you today.
• Sept 8: We’re livestreaming an online disaster preparedness seminar with NY State Senator Phil Boyle.

In Case You Missed It

Then and now: Photos from the archives of Red Cross volunteer Jim Heavey, who is now the Greenwich Police Chief.

Over the last seven days, the Greater New York Red Cross provided emergency assistance to 108 adults and 36 children for 36 local disaster responses. Here are some highlights from last week and a preview of upcoming activities. (See below.) 

Last Week in Review

• The third season of our podcast launched Friday with an episode about the 2003 Northeast Blackout. We were joined by Red Cross members and partners who helped to keep New Yorkers safe and informed during this historic emergency 18 years ago. 

• Longtime volunteer, board member, blood donor and Greenwich Police Chief Jim Heavey reflected on his 45+ years of service with the Red Cross in a blog post from this past week. 

• We shined a spotlight on Sarai Korpacz, a Red Cross Volunteer who jumped at the opportunity to give her time and services in support of the 40th National Veterans’ Wheelchair Games. 

• On August 10, we live-streamed a presentation on how to prepare, respond and recover from local emergencies and large-scale disasters in your community co-hosted by NY State Assemblyman Mike Lawler. 

• A Queens explosion and fire forced 44 people from their homes last Tuesday. ABC7 reports the Red Cross was there to provide temporary lodging, financial assistance, emotional support and other services to those impacted. 

• The Patch highlighted Red Cross blood drive efforts in the Greenwich area happening over the next few weeks. 

• Earlier this week, The Examiner profiled a Red Cross disaster preparedness event with Assemblyman Chris Budrick which was held on August 3, the one-year anniversary of Tropical Storm Isais. 

Upcoming Events and Activities

• August 17: We’re hosting an online informational session for potential volunteers. Join us to learn about our many volunteer opportunities and how you can apply today! 

• We’re looking for volunteers to help staff disaster shelters, with a specific need for with health professionals. Apply today at  redcross.org/volunteertoday! For more information, please contact recruimtent@redcross.org.

• The American Red Cross has issued a call for blood. We are experiencing nationwide blood shortages and are in dire need of donors to help us save lives. Find a blood drive near you today.

In Case You Missed It

Red Cross volunteers at the National Night Out in Brentwood. 

Over the last seven days, the Greater New York Red Cross provided emergency assistance to 103 adults and 33 children for 51 local disaster responses. Here are some highlights from last week and a preview of upcoming activities. (See below.)

Last Week in Review 

• According to Newsday, the Red Cross was called in to help some of the families impacted by a massive blaze in Hempstead early Friday morning. 

• Last week News 12 reported that the Red Cross aided residents displaced by a three-alarm fire at an apartment complex in Montrose on Friday night.

• On Tuesday, one of our ERVs made a pit stop at the National Night Out in Brentwood, NY, a drug abuse and violence prevention awareness event. We set up shop to greet the community and support the cause. 

• Also on Tuesday, we teamed up with NY Assemblyman Chris Burdick for a virtual presentation on disaster preparedness. 

• We co-hosted a Red Cross Ready livestream Monday with Greenwich Selectwoman Lauren Rabin. 

• The New Haven Register published a photo series highlighting Red Cross blood drive efforts in Greenwich, which were held Monday.

Upcoming Events and Activities

• August 10: We’re presenting an online disaster preparedness seminar with NY Assemblyman Mike Lawier. 

• August 17: Join us for a virtual informational session about volunteering with the American Red Cross in Greater New York. Register by signing up on our Eventbrite page

• We’re participating in the Target Circle program! You can vote for the Red Cross and help direct Target’s giving to benefit disaster relief. Vote by September 30 to make sure the Red Cross receives a grant so we can further our life-saving work in the community.

In Case You Missed It

Red Cross employee Chris Higgins featured in #MyRedCrossLife.

Here are some highlights from last week and a preview of upcoming activities. (See below.)

Last Week in Review

• We dropped the final episode of season two of our podcast, where we talked to Dr. Joseph Prewitt Diaz about his unique role supporting communities around the world during the pandemic. You can also listen to the podcast on iTunes and Spotify.

• The Greenwich Sentinel reported that the grand reopening of the Metro NY North Red Cross Headquarters in Greenwich has been set for September 23.

• The Patch is promoting blood donation with the Red Cross amid a nationwide blood shortage, publishing list of upcoming drives in and around New York City (including in Greenwich).

• Last week marked the 31st anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We honored the date by posting a series of special content throughout the week, including this Red Cross Ready PSA in ASL and an interview with Chris Higgins, a Red Cross employee who spoke candidly about life with a disability.

• We co-hosted two Hands Only CPR livestreams last week with local elected officials: NY State Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar on July 26 and NY State Senator Elijah Reichlin-Meinick on July 27.

• We gave a shoutout to Lori-Ann Pizzarelli, yet another Red Cross volunteer who passed her Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) road test. She’s now a member of our team of volunteers ready to take one of our ERVs out to a local disaster at a moment’s notice.

Upcoming Events and Activities

• August 2, 3, 10: We’re co-hosting a series of online disaster preparedness seminars this August with Greenwich Selectwoman Lauren Rabin on the 2nd, NY State Assemblyman Chris Burdick on the 3rd, and Assemblyman Mike Lawier on the 10th.

• August 17: Join us for a virtual informational session on volunteering with the Red Cross of Greater New York. Get your tickets and save your spot by signing up on our Eventbrite page.

• We are actively recruiting for the following volunteer positions: Preparedness Team members, Disaster Action team members and Disaster Workforce Engagement members. Apply today at  redcross.org/volunteertoday! For more information, please contact recruitmentgny@redcross.org.