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!