Busy day!

We just finished another planning meeting for The BASH (coming June 7!! Get your tickets now at www.redcross.org/buffalobash!), while at the same time we are deep in preparations for next Tuesday's Reverse Draw Event & Dinner in Niagara Falls. Sometimes, we get so busy putting together these great events that it's easy to forget why we do them in the first place. Then, a day like Tuesday comes along to remind us.

It started with a call to a fire on Wakefield in Buffalo to help 23 people from multiple families who had been affected. Just as volunteers arrived at that scene, a second incident took place at Briscoe in the City, where two more household with 11 total people needing assistance. Things then slowed down for a few hours but picked back up just after dinner, with a call to assist a family of four after a fire on Sunset Blvd in Angola. A couple hours later, our volunteers were called to May St in Buffalo to assist nine more people who were displaced by a fire there. Just as our team was leaving that scene, they were called to another fire on South Park Ave in Buffalo, where two more families had been displaced.

In all, volunteers Jose, Nicole, Julie, Widad, Diane and James provided temporary housing, food, clothing and support to 52 people from 12 families in less than 24 hours, and those numbers could still grow as some folks were not home at the time our team was on the scene. None of these disasters received much media attention, but that doesn't make them any less devastating for the people who were forced from their homes. Your local Red Cross was there to help these neighbors in need, thanks to your support.

So while you're anxiously waiting to see when your ticket will be pulled during the Reverse Draw or celebrating The BASH's 15th Anniversary with over 4,000 of your closest friends, take a moment to think about the real reason we hold events such as these, and know that you're helping give people such as these 12 families somewhere to turn in their most difficult moments. We promise to do the same the next time we're ready to bang our heads on our desks as we try to plan these parties!

Red Cross Heroes Unifrax, Michael J. Hoplight to be Honored at Reverse Draw

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who made the Reverse Draw a huge success! Check out the photos on our Facebook page!

22^nd Annual Event and Dinner scheduled for Tuesday, May 14

Mike Hoplight at American Red Cross in Greater NY
headquarters in Manhattan while serving in the reponse
to Sandy last fall.

BUFFALO, NY, May 7, 2013 - The 22nd Annual Reverse Draw and Dinner to benefit the American Red Cross is scheduled for Tuesday, May 14 at the Conference & Event Center Niagara Falls. This signature event for the American Red Cross in Niagara County reverses the usual raffle strategy by rewarding the final ticket drawn with the grand prize of $3,000. Other prizes donated by various organizations and community members will be awarded throughout the evening. All proceeds benefit the American Red Cross, Serving Erie & Niagara Counties. Red Cross Heroes Unifrax and Michael J. Hoplight will be honored at this year’s event.

What:            22^nd Annual Reverse Draw and Dinner to benefit the American Red Cross, Serving Erie & Niagara Counties

When:           Tuesday, May 14, 2013
                        6pm-9pm

Where:         Conference & Event Center Niagara Falls

                        101 Old Falls Street, Niagara Falls, NY 14303

Why:              Red Cross Heroes Unifrax and Michael J. Hoplight will be honored for their support of the lifesaving mission of the Red Cross. Unifrax has worked with the Red Cross for over 20 years to help meet the emergency needs of people in WNY and around the world following disasters. Hoplight has volunteered with the Red Cross in Niagara County since 1995, and spent more than half of 2012 on deployment, including four separate assignments in NYC and NJ following Superstorm Sandy and three months serving as Assistant Station Manager at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan.

RSVP:            Tickets are $150 each and include hors d’oeurves, dinner for two, one complimentary cocktail per person, and one entry into the Reverse Draw contest for a chance to win up to $3,000 cash plus other great prizes.

Contact Faye at (716) 878-2396 or faye.macclellan@redcross.org for more information.