Building Community, Changing Lives: My look back on my time at the Red Cross

By Dora He

For the past nine months, I have had the enormous pleasure of working with the Greater New York Red Cross as a communications intern. As someone who has taken swim lessons, earned lifeguard certification, volunteered, -and now, worked, with the Red Cross, I believe the Red Cross has played a very important role in shaping my understanding of community outreach.

Every time I work with the Red Cross, my new experiences change the way I view volunteerism and teach me how to use personal strengths to contribute to my own community.

While serving as a communications intern, I had the opportunity to see firsthand how the Greater New York Red Cross touches lives on a daily basis. From blood drives to fire responses to operating disaster relief shelters, the volunteers and employees at the Red Cross work around-the-clock to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their community.

I also got to take a closer look at the work the Emergency Call Center contributes behind the scenes, to make sure that volunteer operations go smoothly. On my ride-along trips, I was able to help families recover in the aftermath of their apartment fires.

In the office, I helped ensure that our blog stories reached out to New Yorkers who might not know of the Red Cross’s free services to the community. Through this combined action, I gave back in a truly unique way to the city I have come to call home over the past few years.

Working with the Red Cross has empowered me with a greater understanding of the meaning of volunteerism, and its vision is one I have been proud to support. In the future, I hope to stay a part of the Red Cross by serving as a volunteer in any way possible.

Although I am only one person, I am positive I can help implement change at a bigger level; I hope to encourage others to think about the way they can help their peers as well. As Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

Staten Island Middle School Students Learn to Be Red Cross Ready

The American Red Cross trained approximately 700 7th and 8th graders ages 12 to 14 to be Red Cross Ready May 8 at IS 75 in Staten Island.

The four, 40-minute-long, interactive sessions were sponsored by Staten Island Assembly Member Joseph Borelli. “With hurricane season making its approach, and with Superstorm Sandy still fresh in our minds, it is imperative to educate our youth about the importance of being prepared in the face of disaster,” Borelli said. “An individual who is well educated and well prepared will be better able to protect themselves, and their loved ones as well.”

The presenter had each group of children act out various hazards and what they would do in response. The audience guessed which hazard was being acted out, i.e., a tornado, a hurricane, a flood, a fire, extreme cold, etc. Each participant took home Red Cross preparedness pamphlets to share with their families.

Red Cross Youth Campaign for Humanitarian Law

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) establishes guidelines that seek to protect civilians and regulate the methods of warfare. The Red Cross is rooted in these principles. Today one aspect of the American Red Cross mission is to disseminate these concepts.

In New York City, the American Red Cross promotes the values of the IHL through our work with Red Cross Youth Clubs.

As a way to bring the concepts of IHL to life, Red Cross youth clubs from across the country have been developing IHL Action Campaigns—projects that showcase how those around the world can maintain human dignity in times of conflict.

Here in Greater NY, Red Cross Youth Clubs from several local schools—Townsend Harris High School, Horace Mann High School, Brooklyn Technical High School, Bayside High School and St. Joseph’s College—developed such campaigns and will present them at the Annual Greater NY Red Cross Youth Summit on May 9, 2014.

Below are a selection of some of the projects.

Bayside High School:

Townsend Harris High School:

St. Joseph’s College:

Brooklyn Tech:

A Look Back at Red Cross Response to Severe Weather Outbreak

Last week, powerful storms left a devastating path of damage and despair from the Great Plains to the Gulf Coast and across the East Coast. As soon as the storms passed, the American Red Cross was on the ground, providing comfort and hope to thousands of people whose lives were turned upside down in just moments.

Today, nearly a thousand trained Red Cross workers are providing shelter, food, relief supplies, health services, emotional support and other assistance to those in need across 12 states. Dozens of Red Cross emergency vehicles are handing out meals, snacks and relief supplies in the hardest hit communities as road conditions permit.

Here in New York City, after near-record flooding, neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn found themselves under several feet of water. The devastation included lost possessions as well as the destruction of entire basement homes. Red Cross teams sprang into action to help families clean up and recover. They canvased hundreds of homes, handed out more than 500 clean-up items and provided over a dozen residents with emergency housing. They will continue to help as long as they are needed.

Learn more about the Red Cross spring tornadoes and flooding response.

Greater NY Volunteer Deploys to North Carolina Floods

Long-time Red Cross volunteer Fred Leahy, who serves as Sr. Volunteer Partner to Red Cross Northeast Division Disaster Executive Tom Vitullo, is scheduled to travel tomorrow to North Carolina, where Red Cross is helping those affected by tornadoes. Fred will act as the Community Partnership Services Manager, helping to coordinate relief efforts between the Red Cross and its community partners.

Fred said, “This will be my 27th disaster response since Katrina. So I pretty well know what I am going to face. The destruction is always startling. But alleviating the human suffering is what I am really there for. I look forward to helping those affected by the severe weather begin to patch up their lives.”

Fred is just one of more than 500 American Red Cross volunteers who are providing comfort and hope across 11 states to help people affected by devastating floods and tornadoes. Read more.

 

Running for Humanity

by Dora He and Anita Salzberg,
American Red Cross

The afternoon of April 12, 2013, Moroccan native and Greater New York Red Cross volunteer Hamsi Hicham had just finished the Boston Marathon and was gathering his belongings when he heard the bombs go off. He quickly texted his girlfriend, who was still running. (She was unharmed.)

Despite the trauma of last year’s event, the 35-year-old employee of Paragon Sports and auxiliary member of the NYC Police Department has put aside his worries and doubts and is once again running in the Boston Marathon today, a year later.

“We cannot let negative thoughts plant fear in our hearts,” Hamsi said. “All of us, we run for the victims. This marathon is a run for humanity.”

Hamsi, who became a Red Cross volunteer the summer of 2011, has been a competitive runner since he was a child, running various distances in numerous marathons. Last year, he ran a 100 km (62 mile) race in upstate New York. “In Morocco, we train hard. We like to win,” he said with a grin. “No matter how far you run, you feel like a superstar in your race.”

During Hamsi’s time at the Red Cross, he has provided assistance after large-scale disasters such as Superstorm Sandy, as well as everyday emergencies, including home fires. He says that volunteering with the Red Cross and running share many similarities.

“They both involve a voluntary choice to reach a goal and inspire people. Furthermore, both activities require intense dedication and spring out of a desire to improve our own lives, and the lives of others as well.”

Hamsi said he joined the Red Cross because of his passion to help others.

“It’s in my nature,” he explained. “I’m happier when I’m surrounded with people, and we are working together to do good things.

“The Red Cross in Greater New York is like a big family to me,” he added. “We as New Yorkers and volunteers feel the pain of the Bostonians. But the best way to heal is ... to run.”  

In Memory of FDNY Firefighter and Red Cross Volunteer, Luis Fragoso (1954-2014)

Luis served as an FDNY firefighter for 18 years and was co-founder and chair of the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART). The DART partnership between the Greater New York Red Cross and FDNY was formed in 1989. The team is made up of active and retired New York City firefighters and fire officers from New York City, Long Island and Metro New York North. For nearly 25 years, Luis served as "the glue" that kept DART together, deploying its members to provide disaster relief as part of the Red Cross following countless local and national emergencies. He worked both behind the scenes and in the field, having been deployed to 24 large-scale responses including the attacks on the World Trade Center Towers on September 11, 2001.

Additionally, he was honored for his dedication to our mission on numerous occasions, first as a Clara Barton Award winner in 1994 and as recently as October of last year when he and his entire DART team were recognized at our NY Red Cross Ball.

He was 59 and is survived by his four children and several grandchildren. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them during this difficult time.

Luis will be remembered as a Friend, Brother Fire Fighter, Red Cross volunteer who worked selflessly serving those in need and always as the DART leader.