‘We Met Miss Wanda’: How a Local Red Cross Disaster Worker Brought Comfort to Spokane Wildfire Evacuees

“I have a small, assisted living business, managing two adult family homes in north Spokane. On Saturday, I was doing my errands and one of my caregivers called me and said that we’ve been told to evacuate. I knew there were fires and a lot of smoke, but I didn’t know that it was going to affect our area. They told us to go to the shelter at the convention center.”

From there, Rose Chebe prepared her residents, staff of caregivers and her own family to transition to the American Red Cross evacuation shelter at the Spokane Convention Center.

“We got everybody in the cars and they told us to go to the convention center. We had 12 of my residents, caregivers and my husband, daughter and I. Everybody panicked. Then we met Miss Wanda.”

Wanda Martinez-Johncox serves as a Community Disaster Program Specialist in the Greater Rochester chapter in the Western New York region. Before starting her role in 2019, she served as a Greater Rochester Board member and Red Cross volunteer for six years, deploying to disasters big and small here at home and across the country.

She is now one of hundreds of Red Cross disaster workers providing safe shelter, meals and snacks, health and mental health support and relief items to those affected by the devastating wildfires in Spokane, Washington.

“It’s one Red Cross. Without being a volunteer first, I couldn’t have understood what it’s like to be on the ground and deploy. I use what I learned as a volunteer. I’m just trying to make them comfortable. Even if it’s just a hug or a laugh. Simple things like that make it more comfortable because it’s hard. I’m just grateful to be here to help out. We’re here for you.”

Two elderly members of Chebe’s group required a medical bed to help keep them elevated during their stay. While she was able to find housing for everyone after a two-night stay at the shelter, Chebe says the support provided to them by the Red Cross and people like Wanda was a blessing.

“She made it easier to be out of our homes and comfortable. It makes me feel good that we have somebody that caring. That’s what you need when you transition to a place like this. In a disaster, you don’t know where to start but when you meet good people like Wanda, it makes you feel comfortable. She has a big heart, she’s in the right job.”

Amid renewed alerts for potential evacuations, Chebe was back at the shelter a few days later – this time, however, just to embrace someone she now calls a lifelong friend.

“I came to see Miss Wanda. This is my girl. She can come back and visit me because without her I don’t know how we would’ve done it.”

The Red Cross continues to support relief efforts in Spokane and respond to multiple states to support the families and communities impacted by other massive fires burning across the West.

You can help support families depending on the Red Cross for assistance now by making a donation or signing up to volunteer at redcross.org

Rochester Red Crosser's volunteer career spans 50 years, multiple continents

Born in Madrid, Spain, Maria Polo and her family moved to Colombia when she was around 9. She considers herself to be of Colombian culture and, before moving to America and becoming an American citizen, she called Colombia her home country.  Her father founded the Universidad Autonoma de Colombia in the Capital city of Bogota.  The university is still there and growing today.  This is where Maria started her service with the Red Cross that just recently reached the 50-year mark.  

As a young woman in her twenties, and a member of an educated upper-class family, she saw poverty and mistreatment around her and vowed to help wherever she could.  Raised in a family that believed the secret to one’s own inner peace was found by helping others and never asking for anything in return, Maria truly grasped this belief at a very young age.  She and her young daughter started volunteering at a nursing home in Bogota, Colombia.  Upon realizing the poor conditions and lack of resources at the facility, she was compelled to volunteer every Sunday to help the residents by providing music therapy, massage therapy and helping in any way she could.  She continued this volunteer effort for the Red Cross in her native country for five years, thus beginning her many years of service with the Red Cross that has spanned multiple continents. 

Maria moved on to serve for the International Red Cross and ended up serving on missions in 57 countries around the world.   The list includes, Ecuador, The Amazon rain forest, Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Shanghai, Hong Kong, South Korea, Jeju Island, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, India, Ethiopia, Egypt, Ethiopia, United Arab Emirates, most countries in Europe and so many more!   Tsunamis, floods, civil unrest, medical missions and earthquakes are just a few of the types of deployments Ms. Polo has done over the years.  Whether its riding a motor bike an unknown amount of miles into the country to obtain rice to help feed a village of starving people, diving in dangerously swift water to help drowning victims, traveling two weeks on foot into the Amazon forest on a medical mission or getting a crash courses in suturing up patients during volunteer surgical missions in Central & South America’s, it’s clear that Maria has had quite an interesting and lively international volunteer career experience.  

She talks about how the missions aren’t easy and how when on them you don’t get special treatment - nor did she expect it,

“You just never know what to expect during these deployments, we just show up and help with

whatever is available at the time.  If they do not eat, we do not eat, if they sleep on the ground, we sleep on the ground.”  Her belief in helping others is so strong she hates to use the word sacrifice to describe giving up her time and vacations over the years to go on these missions. 

“If I say it’s a sacrifice then it means I do it to get something in return, and that’s not it, not the reason, it comes from inside, we need more people to get that!”

In between all the excitement of her international missions she has also volunteered in her own backyard over the years.   Not only has she been a volunteer for local crisis situations such as fires in the greater Rochester area, and other local Red Cross work, but she also volunteered for the Hispanic and Black Youth Leadership Programs in the Rochester area for almost 27 years.  She started volunteering for these organizations in 1994 working with the program director. The program had a mentoring element and covered topics such as diversity, equity & inclusion, financial literacy, conflict management, time management, resume building, leadership skills & development. To this day she has stories of people coming up to her and remembering her by name, thanking her for the guidance and knowledge they learned in these youth programs. She finds these to be very rewarding experiences, knowing that she played a small part in helping these individuals grow and develop into successful members of the very same community.

“Educating the people is what we need to do to make it better, knowledge isn’t always learned in the school.” This is one of the most important secrets to a better future, according to Polo.   

During this wild ride of a life she moved to Toronto, NYC, Boca Raton, North Carolina and finally settled in Rochester.   Maria had previously obtained her bachelor’s degree in computer science and spent several years working in the accounting field for the Caja Agraria Bank in Bogota, Colombia.  After moving to Rochester, she went to SUNY Brockport and earned her Bachelor’s in education and was an assistant Spanish teacher in the Rochester area. Maria has also obtained her certification in medical massage therapy.  She has overcome some major tragedies in her life in recent years as well, which just goes to prove how strong this woman truly is.  In 2017 she was in a terrible car accident and was struck by an on-coming car.  Suffering from a traumatic brain injury, among many other injuries, she was in a coma for over a month, and upon waking was unable to talk or walk.  She was told that her chances of walking and talking again were almost non-existent.  But shockingly enough, with the help of her family, and some friends made through her missions, she has beat those odds!  Not long after, in December 2021, tragedy struck again.  She had a house fire and lost everything.  Coming home from work early one day, she found her home filled with smoke.  Knowing her dogs were inside, Maria selflessly entered the home to save the animals, getting all three out to safety.  Unfortunately, most of her prized possessions from her many trips were lost in the fire.  Pictures, logs, keepsakes, etc. were gone.  This has made it difficult for her to keep track of her experiences and her past missions.  Fortunately, her son and daughter help her keep her memories alive.  She has told her children about her missions over the years “so many times that they roll their eyes when I start to talk about them!”. 

Today Maria can be found spending her time at one of the Rochester area blood donor centers volunteering as a Donor Ambassador.  She is also going back to school at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Osher Lifelong Learning Center to continue her education.  She is currently studying Medical Ethics, Topics in Modern Cognitive Science, Climate Change & Global Warming, and also has an interest in natural and alternative medicine, preventive medicine and mysteries of the mind.  You can usually find her at different parks in the area with her dogs enjoying the outdoors, and at the YMCA most mornings taking part in various exercise classes, and staying healthy and in shape, (she used to run marathons!)  

Over the years, Maria has had so many wonderful learning experiences and met so many people, the extreme gratitude for the life of service that she has lived is clearly evident when she recalls her Red Cross work.  The hundreds, if not thousands, of people with whom she has interacted are grateful for the energy, knowledge and compassion she has shared as well.

Jodi Zielinski, Communications Volunteer, American Red Cross of Western New York

3 out of 3 Octogenarians tell Red Cross: Maria has no equal

Editor's note: Volunteer Winnie Romeril from Wheeler, Steuben County, is currently in Puerto Rico supporting the Maria relief efforts. Click here to learn more about the response and how you can help. 

Nestled high in the mountains of Barranquitas, Puerto Rico the old-timers in Barrio Barranca told

Red Cross volunteers they’ve never seen anything like Hurricane Maria in all their years. “Never have we taken hand outs,” Marcelino Rivera Guzman, 82, and his wife lament as they gratefully accept cases of water, food, peanut butter crackers and hugs. “We worked hard all our lives for everything we have, but now… well, what’s the point in even talking about it?” Red Cross workers, however, are all trained in psychological first aid and know that “talking about it” is precisely what will help lift the weary spirits of people coping with their seventh consecutive week without running water or electricity and scant access to services other United States citizens take for granted. “Maria ended everything- the entire harvest is gone, and all the wooden houses in the hills… gone.” Mr. Rivera’s eyes filled with tears as he lifted his gaze towards the steep mountains surrounding their home, where he often hiked with his bride of 60 years. “My grandmother lived to see 107 years,” Mr. Rivera said, “Will I live that long in these conditions? I wonder.”

“I remember Santa Clara when my daughter was just a little girl,” Carmen Lydia Montecina Rivera, 80, Mr. Rivera’s wife said, referring to the local name for Hurricane Betsy of 1958. “Santa Clara destroyed part of our home, but at least we could find food. Even Hugo wasn’t like this.” In 1989, Hurricane Hugo, like Hurricane Maria, wiped out banana and coffee crops. Monster hurricanes leave an indelible imprint. People here name them to mark the passage of time; it’s like knowing where you were on 9/11. “There are no bananas. No plantains,” Mrs. Rivera said. Plantains, related to bananas, need to be cooked; they are a Caribbean staple prepared in endless delicious ways. Fruit tress of every kind have been decimated on the island, impacting food availability and income sources for years to come. Banana family crops will take a year to recover. Locals say that mature avocado trees will likely take five years to bear fruit again, if they survived at all, since Hurricane Maria completely upended by many productive trees.

 “Ay, there is no comparison to what Maria did to Puerto Rico,” said Teresa Rosado Ortiz, 86, as her doting family gave her a chair in the shade near the relief distribution line. A Red Cross volunteer personally delivered a case of drinking water and boxes of food to her side. “Do you know how to prepare the militares, grandmother?” Winnie Romeril, a Red Cross volunteer from upstate NY asked her. “Militares” (militaries) are the local name for the 2000 calorie pre-packaged meals commonly eaten by soldiers. “Yes, I know how,” she said. “You put a little water in the plastic bag and put it in the cardboard box and then it gets hot. Thank you for these supplies. Thank you.” Red Cross volunteers continue to encounter Puerto Ricans who are eating these packages of food cold. Some groups don’t take the time to explain how to heat the main dish when dropping off the meals-ready-to-eat (MRE’s), and the instructions are only printed in English. In asking about her health, Mrs. Ortiz said, “I have a bad heart.” The Red Cross volunteer winked and assured her, “No. I’m sure you have a very good heart,” which earned her a laugh. 

In Puerto Rico, emergency relief efforts continue with a strong sense of urgency. Red Cross teams are in the field daily, distributing life-sustaining food and water, and providing home visits for health and mental health needs to island residents. The Red Cross team who helped the Riveras and Mrs. Ortiz on November 4^th in Barranquitas, also served 1,582 people in the communities of Maná, Cañaboncito and Lajitas. Simultaneously that day, Red Cross teams delivered supplies to 17 other affected municipalities. Many hands truly made light work in giving out water and meals plus providing medical and legal assistance in Barranquitas, thanks to help from Michael Chavez Guerra and family, the Cintrón family (“El Familión”), the Fonalledas family, Pfizer (Michael Sweitzer), Chrysler (RAM Trucks of Puerto Rico and the RAM volunteers), Samaritan’s Purse and the volunteer doctors and nurses, the group of pro-bono lawyers, and all the volunteers from NY.

Three Regional Volunteers Deploying to Support South Carolina Flood Relief

22 Western and Central NY volunteers have been part of relief efforts

Sunday, October 18, 2015— As people in South Carolina continue to clean up after the recent devastating flooding, the American Red Cross is working alongside community partners to provide help and support throughout the affected communities.

Three additional Western and Central New York volunteers have or will be deploying to South Carolina this weekend, making a total of 22 Regional volunteers who are supporting the relief efforts. James Segerson of Rochester deployed on Saturday, while Lucille Frisicano of Webster traveled on Sunday. Both Frisicano and Segerson will be working in Health Services.

Jay Bonafede, a Tonawanda resident and Marion, NY native, will be deploying to South Carolina on Monday to volunteer in Public Affairs. 

More than 800 Red Cross workers and 45 response vehicles have been deployed to South Carolina to help. Many residents have been able to return home, but as many as 190 people spent Thursday night in four Red Cross and community shelters in South Carolina. The Red Cross is working with community partners to distribute meals and relief supplies both at central distribution sites and throughout affected communities. Items include comfort kits containing personal hygiene items and cleaning supplies such as tarps, flashlights, trash bags, shovels, rakes, bleach and work gloves, as well as hot meals. Since the flooding began, the Red Cross has distributed thousands of relief items and more than 100,000 meals and snacks.

Red Cross caseworkers are meeting one-on-one with people to create recovery plans, navigate paperwork and connect them with resources. In some situations, the Red Cross is providing direct financial support to people who need extra help. The Red Cross is also providing health and mental health services, offering comfort and helping to replace lost eyeglasses and medications. Recovering from a disaster takes time and the Red Cross will be on the ground helping residents in the weeks and months ahead as they get back on their feet.

The Red Cross relies on financial contributions to provide help and comfort to disaster victims anywhere, anytime. You can help people affected by disasters like floods, home fires and countless other crises by making a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. 

4th WCNY Volunteer Deploying to Washington for Wildfire Relief

American Red Cross volunteer Dominic DiGirolamo of Belmont will be deploying Saturday to Washington State to provide Disaster Mental Health services as part of the ongoing wildfire relief efforts. DiGirolamo becomes the fourth Western and Central New York Regional volunteer to deploy to assist in the wildfire response, joining John Craft of Penfield, Diana McLaughlin of Rochester and Donald Nelson, Jr. of Endwell.

The fires burning in the state of Washington are the largest in history, consuming about 600,000 acres so far. Red Cross workers have opened 12 shelters since the fires started, providing more than 750 overnight stays for evacuees. Many more people are visiting the shelters during the day for meals, to get information, or to charge mobile devices.

More than 100 Red Cross workers have provided more than 12,000 meals and snacks, including meals for U.S. military helping fight the fires. The Red Cross distributed hundreds of relief supplies and helped almost 400 people with health services such as replacing prescriptions and lost eyeglasses. Caseworkers are meeting with residents to provide assistance and access to other help.

The American Red Cross is also responding as Tropical Storm Erika heads for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, reaching Florida by Monday with 50 mph winds and several inches of rain.

On the U.S. Virgin Islands, 56 people spent Wednesday night in several Red Cross supported shelters as Erika neared the region. Red Cross workers in Puerto Rico are ready to respond, with relief supplies set to be distributed where needed. Weather experts expect little change in the storm’s strength as it nears Florida. Parts of the state could see heavy rain, strong winds and high waves along the Atlantic Ocean. Strong winds extend out as much as 105 miles from the center of the storm. The Red Cross across Florida is getting ready to respond as needed, with workers standing by, shelter sites identified and relief supplies ready to distribute.

In the Pacific, Hurricane Ignacio could come close to Hawaii as early as Monday. The storm is already carrying winds as strong as 85 mph and is forecast to get stronger over the next few days. The Red Cross already has supplies on Hawaii because of earlier storms and is watching the situation closely, ready to respond as needed.

HOW YOU CAN HELP People can help by donating to Red Cross Disaster Relief by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Donations to Disaster Relief will be used to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. We respond to nearly 70,000 other disasters every year, from home fires to hurricanes and more. Learn more about how Disaster Relief donations have helped people affected by previous disasters including home fires.

Jennifer's deployment story

Jennifer Schaefer

Jennifer Schaefer of Syracuse recently returned after spending a week in Oklahoma, volunteering with Health Services as part of the Red Cross response to recent severe weather. We asked the registered nurse, who volunteers regularly with the Greater Rochester Chapter, to share her experience. Even though she says, "I always hate when people ask what I do on a deployment. I usually forget exactly what I do, to be honest. It is just a blur of days, people, late nights and early mornings," she provided this first-hand account of just one day on a deployment.

Deployment Day Two - Oklahoma City Disaster Response Operation:

Oklahoma Tornado damage. Photo credit: Jennifer Schaefer

It is always hard to describe what I do when people ask. I hold people's hands while they cry about losing their homes, family heirlooms, pets and loved ones. I make sure that the elderly woman who has not eaten in two days because she is living in a home with no electricity or working gas gets a hot meal, a promise of more hot meals and the option of a safer place to stay. 

I talk to other volunteers. I genuinely want to get to know my fellow Red Cross friends, but being a nurse puts a twist on social interaction. Being a nurse on a deployment means every interaction is evaluated, every person's needs are checked. I ended up pulling a volunteer off the job today because he was trying to work his shift after having an eye exam that left his vision blurry. These volunteers never think about themselves, so it is my job to always ask and evaluate.
As a nurse, there is no "downtime." I am checking on my roommate as she shares about her day. I ask my waitress at breakfast how the storms have affected her life and community. I even self-check. I    make time to go to the gym or talk to my family. I give hugs, rides to fellow volunteers and advice. I say, "Thank You. Thank You. Thank You." 

Oklahoma Tornado damage. Photo credit: Jennifer Schaefer

It is hard to worry yourself, about your own problems, when you see the destroyed homes and children's toys broken and upturned. It is difficult to hold back the tears sometimes, but most of all it is difficult to not be grateful. I can see how lucky I truly am and that is what keeps me coming back.

I not only help others rebuild their lives but I rebuilt my own. I started volunteering after I lost two loved ones, a job and a relationship in a short period of time. I was lost and more depressed then I had ever been in my life. That was over a year and a half ago. Today, I have my dream job working with the New York State Department of Health. I get to help children be safer and healthier every day, and you know why I got the job?  The people I interviewed with valued my volunteer service. The American Red Cross turned my life around and helped me find my true calling in my darkest moments. So what else can I say but thank you...


No, Jennifer. Thank YOU for all you do for the Red Cross and the community. Welcome home!

If Jennifer's story has inspired you, click here to learn more about how you can become a Red Cross volunteer!

What a difference a year makes!

When the phone rings at 2am, it's usually not a good sign. That's how May 14, 2014 started for me, being awakened by a phone call that we were opening a shelter in Penn Yan in response to flooding there and in Yates County.

Of course, the Red Cross volunteers were already in action. While most normal human beings were sound asleep, before 5am they had a shelter at the Penn Yan Academy for those forced from their homes, a shelter that would remain open for six days, providing 34 overnight shelter stays.

Having been with the Red Cross for a few years, I had an idea of what was happening. But when I arrived in Penn Yan that afternoon, I was stunned by the amount of devastation in the downtown area. Streets had literally been washed away.

Driving through surrounding areas of Yates County with volunteers over the next several days, delivering water and clean up kits, it quickly became apparent that more than just downtown Penn Yan had been affected by this disaster. 

Looking back one year later, two things really stick out in my mind. I grew up close enough to Penn Yan that I spent nights at my parent's house during our response. It surprised me how much harder it was to deal with a disaster that hit so close to home. 

What didn't surprise me, however, was the work of our volunteers. As my colleague Veronica said at the time of her first disaster response, "The American Red Cross was EVERYWHERE. Volunteers from Niagara Falls to Rochester to Schuyler County to Elmira and everywhere in between mobilized in Penn Yan. They volunteered for 12 hour to sometimes 24 hour shifts at the shelter at Penn Yan Academy. Still others volunteered in the Penn Yan and surrounding communities delivering clean up kits and offering advice on what was next for those who suffered losses in the flood."

Those immediate emergency response efforts continued for three weeks, with volunteers serving over 600 meals and snacks, distributing 38 clean-kits, providing emotional support to countless people devastated by the storm and provided dozens of referrals to help the community get back their feet. 

It may be hard to believe looking at today's bright blue skies, but one year later, the people of Penn Yan and Yates County are still recovering from last spring's floods. And the Red Cross is still there, supporting the community each and every day. None of this would be possible with the incredible work of our volunteers and your generous support 365 days a year. I'm proud to be a part of this great organization, but I'm especially proud to have been there with our amazing volunteers one year ago. 

Today and always, we're #PYStrong.

There’s great people all over.

“It’s hard to do but it is also very rewarding to know that you were there to help them.. Even if it’s just a little bit.”   

- Diane Sargent

Those were the words of volunteers Diane Sargent and Dennis Scott when I was given the opportunity to sit down and asked them about what it is that they do here at the Western and Central NY Red Cross and what keeps them going. Diane and Dennis are part of the Disaster Action Team (DAT) and they are the people who rotate on call shifts after 5 p.m. to morning on weekdays and 24/7 on weekends.

“When you’re out there in the middle of the night and it’s freezing cold and you see an individual standing out there and their house was all burnt out, they have nothing but what they have on..”- Diane

When there is a fire and the people are displaced because they cannot live in their residences, the DAT helps with their immediate needs by providing them with food, clothing, and temporary shelter to start their recovery process. The victims are eventually referred back to the Red Cross or other social services to help with their future plans until they can get back on their feet.

Dennis at a fire scene.

“We go ground-zero into the burned houses to access the damage. The grieve at the moment for the families.. we kind of feel the burden of the families because of their loss...”-Dennis

Diane recalled an incident where she visited a young mother who was hospitalized with her newborn baby after a fire that happened when she accidentally fell asleep with the candle on. “As soon as everyone had left the room and the door closes, she burst into tears. “They can’t take my baby away..” she said. Thank God I was there because I was able to comfort her, to tell her that it was all okay and that things happen but it was all an accident.”

“I got a place to come back to at the end of the day, but somebody else needs my help..”-Dennis

Diane was at the 9/11 in New York City, working in the Soup Kitchen when she saw the Red Cross working. Soon after, she contacted the Red Cross and has been volunteering ever since. Dennis, on the other hand, had always known that he wanted to help people. “I always knew I wanted to do something (to help). One day I went into Soup Kitchen to get presents for the kids because they couldn't afford it and they had set up a venue for different agencies. I saw the Red Cross and at that point, a light went on and I knew I wanted to do it.”

“Sometimes I go out (to disaster-stricken places) and see things and it gets really heavy, but there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.”-Diane

Despite the heavy commitment required of them, Diane and Dennis have never thought about giving up. “Eventually, everybody’s houses either get rebuilt or they moved elsewhere, of course there are people who died. It’s hard, but I've never felt like giving up.” Dennis went on to add that “we might be in that circumstances one day and hopefully somebody is going to be there for us. I don’t want to give up on them because I don’t want them to give up on me in the time of need. This is what I signed up to do, it just becomes my mission. My strength and endurance is there and I just strive for it.”

At the end of our brief chat, Diane and Dennis left me with some words of wisdom. “If it (helping people) is for you, you’re not getting away from it because you know you can really help somebody, you know you can start the process of helping someone recover. When you experienced it then you’ll really understand what it is. It’s not adrenaline. It’s something special that we do. And it gives me the strength to go.” With that, the conversation ended on a positive note.

Thank you, Diane and Dennis for sharing your experiences with me!

Diane with a youngster.

“Because I give and I help. I believe when that time comes, it will come back to me.”-Dennis 

If you're interested in helping your community like Dennis and Diane, you can start your own volunteer story by visiting our website!

-Valerie Ho, Western New York Chapter Intern

Red Cross to Distribute Clean-Up Kits in Storm Affected Areas

The American Red Cross will be distributing free clean-up kits and other materials to help residents as they begin to recover from last week’s devastating lake effect snowstorm. Clean-up kits-including brooms, buckets, work and rubber gloves, bleach, tarps, shovels and more- will be available while supplies last, along with information on what to do after a flood and specially-trained Disaster Mental Health volunteers to help area residents deal with the emotional impact of this storm.

WHAT:          Red Cross clean-up materials distribution

WHEN:         Wednesday, November 26, 2pm-5pm

                        Friday, November 28, 11am-2pm

WHERE:      Iroquois Middle School, 2111 Girdle Road, Elma

                        St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran, 3512 Clinton Street, West Seneca                   

The Salvation Army will be providing hot meals at both locations on both Wednesday and Friday as they continue to support the relief efforts. The Salvation Army has provided over 2,000 meals since the relief efforts began last week. Volunteers from the Southern Baptists will also be supporting the distribution, joining some of the 114 Red Cross staff and volunteers currently working on the relief efforts.

The Red Cross continues to operate a shelter at Iroquois Middle School, where six people spent Monday night. Four Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) have been bringing food, water and additional support directly into the hardest hit areas, and Disaster Assessment teams have been assessing the damage and helping guide the response efforts.

The Red Cross continues to work with emergency officials at the state, county and local level to monitor developments and ensure that community needs are being met as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches.

Digging out, then helping out

"I'm sore!" That's what Red Cross volunteer Mike Koscielny told me when I asked him how he was doing today. Why, you ask?

Mike joined the lake effect snow relief operation on Saturday after digging himself out of his Lancaster home.

"We had almost five feet," Mike said. "Shoveled for seven hours on Tuesday, then just tried to stay on top of it."

The backyard at Mike Koscielny's Lancaster home

Mike also helped neighbors shovel and fix their snow blowers as they broke down trying to move this unprecedented snowfall. ("Mine is being held together with tape and glue."). Furnaces were also an issue, icing up because of the amount of snow.

"Even walking was ridiculous," he says. "You were sinking down to your waist, like a quicksand of snow."

Despite it all, Mike said his neighbors have kept an optimistic attitude. For the most part.

"A couple said, 'that's it. I'm moving!' But your house will still be there when the snow melts. After a hurricane, it might not be."

After putting in all this effort to dig himself and his neighbors, you might think Mike would want to take a rest. But after his street was just plowed yesterday, Mike was here at our Clement Mansion headquarters first thing this morning, on the job working Disaster Services Technology and Staffing.

"Have to help everybody else," he says. "I'm done helping family and friends, everyone is safe. Now it's time to move on to helping other people."

You Saved My Life!

“I haven’t had sleep in 24 hours!”

Jeanette Jay with Winging It TV's Matt Snyder at
Iroquois Middle School shelter

Jeanette Jay had been evacuated from her home in the French Quarter Mobile Park in West Seneca

Thursday evening when of the snow from the lake effect storm threatened to collapse her roof.

“There was 12 feet of snow in my driveway,” Jay said. “I left my pets behind, I had to make a decision. I’m lucky to be here.”

The emergency officials that rescued Jay bused her and almost 30 of her neighbors to the Red Cross shelter at Iroquois Middle School in Elma.

“The treatment has been out of this world,” Jay said of the volunteers who provided hot meals, a place to rest, and emotional support at the shelter. “The facilities are the best they could’ve taken people to.”

This picture gives you an idea of how much snow has
piled up on people's roofs

Jay actually came to Western New York after her Pennsylvania home was destroyed by fire years ago. However, she hadn’t needed Red Cross services until this storm, and she is grateful for all the help she's received.

“You saved my life,” she said.

65 people spent Friday night in Red Cross shelters at the Iroquois Middle School, 211 Girdle Road in Elma, and Goodell Hall, 12847 Erie Street in Irving. Volunteers continue to operate those shelters as preparations are being made for potential flooding in the next few days. Please take some time to prepare yourself and your family for possible flooding, and download the FREE Red Cross Flood App for real-time alerts and additional safety tips.

"It's My Little Adventure"

Joy Lawrence of Brampton, ONT

"I'm really enjoying this. I call it my little adventure!"

That's not exactly what you'd expect to hear from a trucker stranded by an unprecedented lake effect snowstorm. Joy Lawrence was trying to get his rig back to Brampton, Ontario, Canada Tuesday when the snow started falling.

"Almost made it," Lawrence said Thursday from the Red Cross shelter at Iroquois Middle School in Elma. "Got stuck at 2:30, slept in my truck. I'd never gotten stranded, never seen snow like this before."

After getting some help digging out his rig, two police officers led Lawrence to the Jamison Road fire hall. The next day, he and others were transferred to the larger shelter at Iroquois Middle, where volunteers were able to provide them with additional services including showers.

"Wow, Red Cross, you guys are awesome," Lawrence said. Really helpful, really kind, really understanding. They're willing to help you in every way. Food, shelter, nursing. Sometimes it's hard for me to explain. I'm 100% satisfied with your services.

The snow continued to fall outside our shelter at
Iroquois Middle School in Elma Thursday afternoon

Despite being stranded in a foreign country, Joy's spirit throughout his ordeal really lived up to his first name.

"I've met some really lovely people," he said.

On Wednesday afternoon, Joy was one of 35 Canadians staying in Red Cross shelters in WNY. There were also 22 people from China, 3 from Brazil, and one each from Australia, India and the Philippines, making this a truly international operation.

"The American Red Cross is one of the best in the world," said Lawrence before returning home.

American Red Cross Volunteer is Henrietta's Woman of the Year

The town of Henrietta honored one of our volunteers from the GreaterRochester Chapter last week.

Sarah Perkins received the Antoinette Brown Blackwell Society’s 2014 Henrietta Women of the Year award.  The award is given to a Henrietta resident who has demonstrated leadership, inspired others toward the common good or has been a role model through her actions. She was presented with the award on Wednesday, May 7^th.

Sarah served as a Platoon Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps for five years after training at Parris Island, South Carolina. She later became the first female patrol officer with the San Diego County in California. After that position she moved on to become a media specialist at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf for 25 years.

Following her retirement in 2004, Sarah became an American Red Cross volunteer. She now serves as the New York State Disaster Assessment Lead. In this role, Perkins and her teams determine the extent of damage at a disaster and evaluate the immediate needs and resources for those impacted. Sarah has deployed more than 30 times and serves as a trainer to other volunteers and staff.

The woman whom this award Sarah received is named after Antoinette Brown Blackwell, the first U.S. female ordained minister. Blackwell was born in Henrietta in 1825 and became a minister in 1853 at the First Congregational Church in Butler, Wayne County. She was a womens' rights advocate, suffragist and abolitionist. She died in 1921 at the age of 96.

Want to join "Team Red Cross"? There's an app for that!

We all know that the good people of Western New York always want to help out their neighbors in need. After a disaster, people step up not only with financial support but with a desire to volunteer, especially if that disaster occurs in our own back yard. The problem is, they may not know how to help. Well now, there's an app for that!

The American Red Cross launched the Team Red Cross App this week, which allows people to sign up to help, get an overview on basic tasks and receive notifications about Red Cross disaster volunteer opportunities in their community.

Once you download the app, you need to create an account. Then you'll learn about different jobs, such as working in a warehouse, handing out supplies or assisting with feeding. When the Red Cross has a need for volunteers, the Team Red Cross App will notify you based on their location, and you can instantly accept or decline the volunteer opportunity.

The best time to download the Team Red Cross App is now, BEFORE a disaster strikes in WNY so you can help immediately.

The app is free and designed for iPhone and A

ndroid smart phones and tablets. Additional features include:

• A quick orientation right on the mobile device.
• Ability to share notifications for volunteers with your social network.
• Earn digital “badges” by completing a job test, accepting a job, sharing the app, recruiting volunteers, etc. The “badges” can then be shared with your social network.
• Allows you to donate money to the Red Cross and sign up to donate blood.
• Offers emergency response information that you can share with their friends at the touch of a button.

The Team Red Cross App is the seventh in a series of highly successful Red Cross apps, which are now on more than 3 million mobile devices across the country. A recent Red Cross survey shows that apps are now tied with social media as the fourth most popular way to get information during emergencies—behind TV, radio and online news sites. Nearly one-fifth of Americans say they’ve received some kind of emergency information from an app they’ve downloaded, making the Red Cross apps an important way for the public to get ready for disasters.

The Team Red Cross App can be found in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store by searching for American Red Cross or by going to redcross.org/mobileapps. We look forward to having you join our team!

Local Red Cross Responds to 11 Fires over Holidays

Disaster Action Team assisting 40 residents of Erie and Niagara Counties

BUFFALO, NY, January 2, 2013 – The American Red Cross, Serving Erie & Niagara Counties responded to 11 separate fires between December 21, 2012 and January 1, 2013. Volunteers and staff members from the Disaster Action Team (DAT) sacrificed a portion of their Holiday week to provide immediate emergency assistance to 40 local residents affected by these incidents, which are listed below.

Red Cross assistance typically includes vouchers for temporary housing, food and clothing, as well as providing emotional support for those displaced by the fire. The affected families then meet with caseworkers in the days following their respective disasters to work out a longer-term recovery plan.

The Disaster Action Team is a group of specially trained volunteers who respond to the scene of a local disaster when called upon 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. For more information on becoming Disaster Action Team member, please call (716) 878-2140 or visit www.redcross.org/ny/buffalo/volunteer.

Nationally, the American Red Cross responds to as many as 170 home fires a day. As temperatures drop, the Red Cross offers several safety tips to avoid home fires this winter.

The American Red Cross, Serving Erie & Niagara Counties spends an average of just over $1,000 when responding to a single house fire affecting a family of four.  To make a financial donation to help families such as these affected by house fires and other disasters down the street, across the country, or around the world, please visit www.redcross.org, call 1-800-REDCROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to charge a $10 donation to your cell phone bill.

AMERICAN RED CROSS, SERVING ERIE AND NIAGARA COUNTIES
RECENT FIRE RESPONSES:

·         12/21: Prospect Avenue, Buffalo; 4 clients

·         12/22: Eller Avenue, Buffalo; 7 clients

·         12/22: Pyle Court, Tonawanda; 3 clients

·         12/23: Williamtowne Court, Cheektowaga; 1 client

·         12/23: Gates Avenue, Lackawanna; 5 clients

·         12/24: Margaret Road, Amherst; 6 clients

·         12/24: Pletcher Road, Youngstown; 5 clients

·         12/26: Pleasant Avenue, Hamburg; 0 clients

·         12/27: Dodge Street, Buffalo; 6 clients

·         12/29: Edison Avenue, Buffalo; 2 clients

·         12/31: Krull Parkway, Niagara Falls; 1 client

Red Cross, Grigg-Lewis Foundation Team Up For Preparedness

$6,000 donation funds purchase of disaster trailer for Eastern Niagara County

BUFFALO, NY, December 13, 2012 – Thanks to a $6,000 donation from the Grigg-Lewis Foundation, the American Red Cross, Serving Erie & Niagara Counties has purchased a new disaster trailer that will be based in Eastern Niagara County. The trailer, which has been stocked with cots, blankets, and other disaster preparedness items, will be housed at the Rapids Fire Hall on Old Beattie Road in Lockport, where it will be available to quickly deploy to assist Eastern Niagara County residents in the event of an emergency.

“We are so thankful for the continuing support of the Grigg-Lewis Foundation,” said Mark Dashner, Director of Niagara County Services for the American Red Cross. “This trailer will greatly cut down on our response time should a disaster strike Eastern Niagara County, allowing our staff and volunteers to quickly set up emergency shelters in affected areas and give local residents someplace to turn when they need it most.”

This generous donation is just the latest example of support the Grigg-Lewis Foundation has provided to the American Red Cross. The Foundation also makes an annual gift of thousands of dollars to support the work of the Red Cross, and the foundation’s founder and primary benefactor, Henrietta Grigg Lewis, was a long-time volunteer with the Red Cross in Eastern Niagara County.

For more information on the Grigg-Lewis foundation, please visit www.grigglewis.org.

To schedule a free disaster preparedness education program at your school, business or organization, please call (716) 886-7500, and visit www.redcross.org/prepare/location for Be Red Cross Ready for emergency preparedness tips and checklists.