In Case You Missed It

On September 13th we celebrated National Grandparents Day. 
It is important for older adults to learn what to do in an emergency during Preparedness Month.

Over the last seven days, the Greater New York Red Cross provided emergency assistance to 108 adults and 39 children following 44 local disaster responses. Here are some highlights from last week and a preview of upcoming activities. (See below) 

Last Week in Review

• On Sunday, we shared a new podcast episode featuring 22-year-old Nick Montoro who recently deployed with the Red Cross for the first time. Nick is helping deliver food and other relief to some of the communities hardest hit by Hurricane Laura.
• Over the weekend, the Red Cross reached out to give support to residents affected by a 5-alarm fire on 74th Street in Brooklyn.
• On Sunday we celebrated National Grandparents Day by featuring these volunteers.
• On Saturday our Long Island volunteers, who were unable to deploy, cleaned, packed, prepped, inventoried & organized shelter supplies as we continue through preparedness month.
• In honor of National Video Game Day, Skillz and the Red Cross launched a mobile esports tournament to encourage donors for current disaster relief efforts.
• By the end of the week, the Red Cross and our partners had provided more than 9,600 people with safe refuge from the wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington. As part of our efforts out West, the Red Cross has also served more than 147,000 meals and snacks and distributed more than 20,000 relief items.
• On 9/11 we vowed once again to never forget the FDNY DART members we've lost and the efforts of the Red Cross staff and volunteers who responded to the tragic events 19 years ago.
• Last week, in partnership with New York City Council Member Mark Gjonaj, we hosted a presentation on how to prepare and recover from local emergencies and large-scale disasters in your community.
• Last week, LinkedIn ranked the American Red Cross as the top volunteer organization of 2020
• On Thursday, our Metro New York Metro North team organized a hands-on training on our ‘Next Generation’ Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV).

Upcoming Events and Activities

• We are actively recruiting for the following volunteer positions: Ready Red Cross Shelter Volunteer, Hurricane Season Reserve Corps. Apply today at www.redcross.org/volunteer! For more information, please contact recruitmentgny@redcross.org.

• To find a blood drive near you click here. 

• Sept 15: NYC Emergency Management is holding a virtual pets and service animals preparedness event. Hear from the ASPCA, the Guide Dog Foundation, and our Red Cross colleague Roxana Petzold about how to include your pet or service animal in your family preparedness plan.

• Sept 16, 22, 24: Prepare, Respond, Recover is a free virtual training about what you and your community can do when natural and man-made disasters strike. Register for an online session here.

• Sep 16: Sheltering Volunteer Information Session covers how you can become a Sheltering Volunteer. The course allows attendees to help during an active hurricane season during the COVID-19 pandemic.