In Memoriam - John Allard, Blood Services Volunteer Extraordinaire

John Allard

For almost five decades, anyone visiting the Red Cross blood collection center in Western New York would likely see the smiling face of John Allard.

Allard began his Red Cross volunteer career in 1970, and over the next 48 years dedicated over 50,000 hours to supporting this lifesaving mission. For over a hundred hours a month, John would tuck himself into a corner workroom of the Union Road Blood Donation Center in Cheektowaga, making the many road signs used to promote blood drives across the NY-Penn region. He took great pride in his work, always cleaning and repairing the signs before adding the updated information.

John Allard and District
Director Vicki Smith

John’s positive attitude could not be confined to a corner office, however. He was also one of the first people to sign up and volunteer as a donor ambassador. John greeted blood donors at five to ten drives each month, making sure those giving that lifesaving gift were treated with kindness and respect. After he was hospitalized following a serious accident in December 2018, donors often asked other staff and volunteers, “Where’s John?” John was also a donor himself, starting in 1963 at the age of 17 and donating over 40 gallons of blood during his lifetime.

Regional Disaster Officer Ken Turner (l)
and Volunteer Driver Program
Coordinator Rachel Elzufon-Couch
present John Allard with the WNY
Chapter 2018 Clara Barton Award

For his efforts, the Western New York Chapter twice recognized John Allard with its highest local volunteer honor, the Clara Barton Award, most recently in August 2018. While in the hospital and rehab facilities following his accident last December, John would light up when members of his Red Cross family would visit to show our love and support.

John Allard, a United States Air Force veteran and avid fisherman, passed away on April 13, 2019, at the age of 72. The son of the late Clayton and Marian Allard, and brother to Kathy, Tom, Bill, Rich, Susan, Dave, the late Clayton Jr., and the late Michael Allard, he is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews. Memorial services are scheduled to take place this week. The Western New York Chapter and the NY-Penn Blood region send our thoughts and prayers to John’s family and friends, as we are working to honor his amazing Red Cross legacy for years to come.

-Jay Bonafede, Regional Communications Officer
American Red Cross, Western and Central New York Region

A Message from our Greater Rochester Chapter Board Chair

As both the Chair of the American Red Cross, Greater Rochester Chapter Board of Directors, and a Red Cross volunteer, I would like to address some of the facts reported in the Democrat and Chronicle on Sunday, September 4.

The American Red Cross is proud of its heritage here in Greater Rochester. Clara Barton founded the first Chapter of the American Red Cross in Dansville in 1881. Our current location on Elizabeth Street in Dansville serves not only as meeting and storage space for our Livingston County staff and volunteers, but also as a museum to the rich history of the Red Cross. During Dansville’s Clara Barton Day celebration last month, our staff led walking tours for the community and opened our home for the public to see and enjoy the many historic artifacts preserved there. If you missed that opportunity, you can schedule a tour and learn more about this important piece of our community’s history by calling 585-335-3500.

The Red Cross is also proud to be a long-standing United Way partner. There is no single organization that can meet all the needs of a community. The collectively negotiated annual allocation we receive from the United Way—agreed upon prior to the “Vision 2017” national reorganization of the Red Cross referenced in the article--helps the Red Cross fill our role of helping this community prevent, prepare for and respond to disaster, while the United Way also continues to support other deserving organizations that serve different needs across our community.

It is also important to note that the “Vision 2017” national reorganization was actually completed in the fall of 2014, following discussions during the Great Recession as to how to best serve our communities in a different economic climate. Although our brick and mortar presence has changed, our physical presence in terms of our volunteer outreach has not. In the past year alone, Red Cross volunteers in Livingston, Monroe and Ontario Counties: provided food, clothing, shelter and support for over 1,000 of our neighbors in need after home fires and other disasters; installed 760 free smoke alarms to help families reduce the risk of fire-related death and injury; trained over 18,400 people in life-saving CPR/AED, First Aid and other Health & Safety programs; collected over 41,400 units of blood--each of which can help save up to three lives-- at over 2,100 blood drives; and opened 314 cases to help our military members and their families, while distributing nearly 3,000 Military Resource Guides as well as over 520 cold weather and comfort kits to Veterans and Homeless Veteran Partner Agencies. These incredible services that occur each and every day are a direct result of the reorganization completed two years ago to meet the growing demand for our services while making the best use of donor dollars. In fact, an average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends goes directly to these humanitarian programs.

The American Red Cross is not brick and mortar buildings; it’s neighbors helping neighbors. While most of us were sleeping early Tuesday morning, Red Cross volunteers Melissa Miller and Herb Wolfe were on the scene of a fire that destroyed three homes on Myrtle Street in Rochester. As our over 1,000 volunteers do each and every day, Melissa and Herb not only provided 13 of our neighbors with a safe place to stay, food, clothing and support, they also gave these families something else: Hope. You can help families with nowhere else to turn know that their community will help pick them up in their darkest hours by supporting the Red Cross, either as a donor or a volunteer. You can learn more by visiting www.redcross.org/wcny or calling 585-241-4400. The American Red Cross has been in Greater Rochester for 135 years, and thanks to your support, we will continue to be a vital part of this amazing community for many years to come.

Sincerely,

Diana Clarkson

Board Chair 
American Red Cross, Greater Rochester Chapter

Dansville to Celebrate Clara Barton

Dansville will celebrate the live and work of American Red Cross founder Clara Barton on Saturday the 23^rd.   The Chamber of Commerce event will begin at 10am at the Dansville Lutheran Church on Clara Barton Street and run until 2pm. There will be food, music and activities as well as a showcase of area organizations including the Clara Barton Chapter of the American Red Cross. Event Information

Clara Barton’s passion to alleviate human suffering began during the Civil War. She pleaded with the government and earned passes to enter battlefields to attend to wounded soldiers. This is where she earned the nickname the “Angel of the Battlefield”. Her time tending to these soldiers lead her desire to help others even after the war ended. It was years later in 1881, she founded the American Red Cross, in Dansville. Clara's History

She was a remarkable woman whose passion continues today here in our region and throughout the United States through the work of our extraordinary volunteers and generous donors. We thank all of you who have been a part and continue to be a part of one of the nation’s premier humanitarian organizations.

American Red Cross History In YOUR Backyard

Photo Courtesy of: Tina Yee, Democrat and Chronicle

A local newspaper journalist, Tina Yee from the Democrat and Chronicle, uncovered a gem amidst the crazy blizzard in Rochester Wednesday. Through the wind whipped snowflakes, a red square sign reveals a historic little-known truth. It is hard for those of us who work or volunteer for this great organization to believe, but many don't know that the founder of the American Red Cross opened the first Chapter in Dansville-yes that Dansville, down the 390 in Livingston County-and the second in the City of Rochester.

Clara Barton. This woman was the real deal. She created something so recognizable today that it is hard to believe people who live in our area don't have any clue that she chose here to begin her legacy. Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross in May of 1881 in a small building in Dansville, 45 miles outside of the city of Rochester. Six weeks later, she founded the Rochester Chapter, which used to be on East Avenue and now resides on Prince Street.

Both Chapters are full of amazing history - some of the things I have seen over the past few months literally took my breath away. From old Red Cross uniforms, to old nurses aprons (with supplies still in the pockets), to old photographers and even original letters Clara Barton wrote - this area holds something so valuable and undiscovered by too many. When I was a journalist, the term "local angle" was used a lot to pertain to national or world events. Guess what? There is no local angle on this piece of history. This area IS where that history lies.

Granted, I love history. History gives us an appreciation for what others way before us did to ensure we have the life we have now. Maybe I am just overly excited to work for someplace whose origins lie where I work every day. Either way, I think everyone should know and understand what a gift it is to live in this region. There are many reasons why this region is so special. It is fitting that Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony and Clara Barton all made their mark here first, and that all three were friends. They did something extraordinary that should always be remembered, recognized and appreciated. Of all the places these three amazing people could be associated with, it is where we live that they were and always will be a part of.

On a side note, this year, the Rochester Chapter will honor our founder in a special way by dedicating one day of fishing to women on May 5th. The Casting for Caring Tournament is not the first for the men, in fact it has been a tradition at the Yacht Club for years. This year, the women will get a turn in the spotlight, just as we believe Clara would have wanted. For more information on how you can be a part of this historic event, contact sarah.chambers@redcross.org.

For more on the history of the American Red Cross http://www.redcross.org/about-us/history.