In Case You Missed It - Aug 14

The Red Cross and elected officials held a press conference in support of Briana's Law.

Over the last 7 days, the Greater New York Red Cross provided emergency assistance to 47 adults and 17 children following 23 local disasters. Here are some highlights from last week and a preview of upcoming activities (see below).

Last Week in Review

• This News12 Brooklyn report did a fantastic job of highlighting the Home Fire Preparedness Campaign installing free smoke alarms out in Bed-Stuy on Saturday.
• On Friday, The Advocate, a Louisiana newspaper, published an article on the anniversary of last year’s historic floods. A photo of our very own Maria Milan, who deployed to the Gulf last summer, can be seen in the article. 
• On Thursday, the Red Cross joined Senator Jesse Hamilton and Assembly Member Felix Ortiz at a press conference in support of Briana’s Law, to honor the memory of Briana Ojeda. 
• On Wednesday, we held a held a Facebook Live Q&A with our outgoing summer interns to discuss their experience and advice for future interns. Thanks to our interns for all their hard work this summer! 
• We also debuted our Sound the Alarm PSA featuring beloved volunteers encouraging others to join the cause! 
• Ogilvy CEO and Red Cross Board Member Lou Aversano hosted a Young Patrons Missing Maps “mapathon” with IVY connect to help map vulnerable communities in Myanmar. 
• Special thanks to renowned photographer Erin Patrice O’Brien partnering with us to “take over” #MyRedCrossLife on Instagram! Check out all her amazing photographs here.
• Throughout the week, Council Member Vanessa Gibson, Senator Jesse Hamilton and Senator Kevin Parker all recorded PSAs to be shown at a later date to support our upcoming Sound the Alarm Save a Life program.

Upcoming Events and Opportunities

• 7x a day, someone in the U.S. dies in a home fire. Help #EndHomeFires by joining Sound the Alarm. Save a Life., a series of home fire safety and smoke alarm installation events. In addition to installing smoke alarms, there’s also a new way to help: peer-to-peer fundraising on CrowdRise! To join the team, click on your Red Cross chapter: Greater NY, Long Island, Metro NY North 
• Aug 15, 18, 20, 21: 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. 
• Aug 22-27: Do you like to volunteer? Do you like golf? If so, have we got an opportunity for you! Sign up today to volunteer at THE NORTHERN TRUST at Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury, NY. For $75, you gain daily access to the tournament for you and a guest, a logoed polo shirt and baseball cap, and much more. Plus, your efforts will support the mission of the American Red Cross. Learn more here.
• Nov 5: There's still limited amount of spots available on Team Red Cross to run the TCS NYC Marathon. Not only do you get to cross running the marathon off your bucket list, but you also get to run for an organization that's devoted to helping people who need help the most. You can register now at redcross.org/2017NYCMarathon.