MVPs Sound the Alarm to Save a Life

At about 6:30 p.m. on May 16, 2019, Merlene Jackson's daughter picked her up. 20 minutes later, she received a call from her son. Merlene's Ravenwood Avenue, Rochester, home was on fire. "The kitchen was destroyed, part of the dining room," Jackson says. "Smoke is through the whole house, we can't stay there with the smoke." Her son, Tyrese Bryant, and 13-year-old granddaughter, Liberty, were home sleeping when the fire started. Thankfully, just one week earlier, a team of volunteers from MVP Health Care--Tim Reidy, Paul Bottazzo, and Mark Shipley--joined Red Cross intern Sara Ward from SUNY Brockport and visited Merlene's home as part of the Red Cross Sound the Alarm campaign. The team from MVP Health Care and Red Cross interns and volunteers who helped Sound the alarm on May 9 "They removed my old smoke alarms, and gave me three new ones," Jackson said. "My son was asleep, that's what woke him up. Two of them were going off, one in the dining room, one upstairs in the hallway. That's what got my son up." "It could've been a lot worse, I'm not even sure the other ones worked." Jackson also says the education and escape planning the volunteers provided helped Tyrese and Liberty know what to do when the alarms went off. Red Cross volunteers visited Merlene again after the fire, providing her family with funding for temporary housing, food, and clothing. However, it was that visit by the Red Cross volunteers from MVP Health Care that helped her son and granddaughter to still be here today. "Sunday, I shared my story with our entire congregation at church," Merlene says. "I said, 'If you don't have a smoke alarm in your house, call the Red Cross, it's very important.'" "If it wasn't for the smoke alarms...they were sound asleep!" Since launching in 2014, the Home Fire Campaign has saved over 580 lives nationally, including 23 in Western and Central New York. Learn more about our campaign to #EndHomeFires at soundthealarm.org/wcny. -Jay Bonafede, American Red Cross

Western and Central NY Region Responding to February 2019 Windstorm

UPDATE AS OF Tuesday, February 26:

Red Cross Shelters in Erie County Scheduled to Close at 4 p.m. Tuesday
Coordinating with regional officials on response to windstorm, preps for winter storm

In consultation with area officials, the American Red Cross shelters at Grand Island Golden Age Center and the Harlem Road Community Center will be closing at 4 p.m. Tuesday, February 26. A shelter at the David F. Gantt Center in Rochester closed on Monday. The Red Cross would like to thank all the volunteers, partners, and supporters who helped provide a safe place to stay, food and water, comfort and support our neighbors in need.

With winter weather advisories issued for later this week and power restoration efforts ongoing, the Red Cross remains in constant contact with emergency officials across the region to coordinate the most efficient and effective response, and is prepared to provide additional relief services as needed.

People can download the Red Cross Emergency App for instant access to winter storm and other disaster safety tips, as well real-time weather alerts and a map of shelter locations. Expert medical guidance and a hospital locator are included in the First Aid App in case of hypothermia, frostbite, and other emergencies. Both apps are available to download for free in app stores or at redcross.org/apps.

You can help people affected by disasters like winter storms 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-REDCROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

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“God kept me here for a reason.” Rochester Board Member supports her Puerto Rico home

“I wish I could be there.”

Under normal circumstances, Rose Mary Villarrubia Izzo would be in Puerto Rico right now, helping friends and family devastated by Hurricane Maria. However, this past year has been anything but normal for the long-time Red Cross volunteer and Greater Rochester Chapter Board member.

Rose Mary Villarrubia Izzo (r) with MGO Lorraine Clements
at the Greater Rochester Chapter Volunteer Salute in October
(Photo by: Tony Zollo, American Red Cross)

“I went to the doctor because I had a migraine,” she says. “The CT scan said I had a tiny aneurysm. The doctor sent me to a neurologist, who sent me to a neurosurgeon. They discovered I had a Size 6 aneurysm. They told me they start rupturing at Size 4, and they had to operate immediately.”

Rose Mary was hesitant to do the surgery. She was told she had only a 50/50 chance of surviving, and even if she did, she may not be able to walk or talk, and could lose her memory.

“I walked out of the doctor’s office in total devastation,” she says. “But they told me if I didn’t have the surgery, I had a 100% chance of dying.”

So, Rose Mary underwent the brain surgery, followed by several long, difficult months of recuperation. Despite being under doctor’s order to stay as stress-free as possible, Villarrubia Izzo, who has been a part of disaster relief operations including Hurricanes Hugo and George during her 32 years with the Red Cross, worried about her nieces and nephews in Texas after Hurricane Harvey, and her in-laws in Florida as Hurricane Irma made landfall. Then, Hurricane Maria absolutely devastated her birthplace, Puerto Rico, where much of her family still lives.

“Every time I looked at videos, my heart stopped,” she says. “I kept waiting to see if any family members would pop up in the news. One of my cousins found a fish on the top of their house! They lost everything.”

Rose Mary moved with her parents to Rochester when she was five years old, but spent summers and holidays with her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Puerto Rico, and her parents moved back after 18 years.

“Dad wanted to stay in Puerto Rico during this devastation and keep an eye on the house,” she said.  Her parents are in their 80s, and she knew that they couldn’t stay in an area with no power, potable water, or functional hospitals after Maria. Rose Mary worked to get them to join her in Rochester. After flights were cancelled six times, she arranged a relief flight, and they arrived safe two weeks ago and are now staying with her daughter. However, Rose Mary felt she needed to do more to help her homeland.

Rose Mary Villarrubia Izzo (3rd from left, red dress) was
instrumental in helping raise over $100,000 to support Maria
relief efforts during a telethon on September 25

“God kept me here for a reason,” says the deeply religious Villarrubia Izzo. After being convinced

that her medical condition made it impossible for her to go to Puerto Rico herself, Rose Mary began to use connections formed through 30 years with the Rochester City School District and the City of Rochester to help raise financial support for the Red Cross relief operations. She was instrumental in the raising of over $100,000 during a telethon on September 25, and helped ensure that proceeds from the City of Rochester’s ROC Relief event a week later also supported the Red Cross efforts. She represented the Red Cross during a concert at the Diplomat Banquet Center that raised over $5,000, and is currently working on another event with Country/Rock music group, “Stanby”, which will be held on November 26 at Three Heads Brewery, with all proceeds going to the Red Cross.

“I feel very proud that I’m capable health-wise to do it,” Rose Mary said. “I’m sad that I can’t go, but at least I can help from here. That’s why God kept me here. I know I can make a difference.”

Rose Mary started with the Red Cross 32 years ago through the Youth Leadership Program, which she is still involved with today. She says that the only way to truly understand all that she’s seen the Red Cross do for the community is to become a part of it yourself.

“If you can make a difference in someone’s life, you need to do it,” she says. “The purpose of helping pulled me out of a lot of depression, and I’m so happy to be here to do it.”

-Jay Bonafede, American Red Cross

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

Red Cross Responds to Six Weekend Fires in WNY, Greater Rochester

UPDATE: Since this release was issued Monday morning, volunteers Jeanie Shiffer and Jason Carmen helped six people after a fire on 10th St in Jamestown, and Jessica and Suzanne are on the way to a fire on Saltvale Road in Wyoming to help 3 adults and a child. Eight fires, 56 people since Saturday. Thank you, volunteers!!

Volunteers from the American Red Cross responded to six separate fires in Western New York and Greater Rochester, providing immediate emergency assistance for up to 47 people. Red Cross assistance typically includes vouchers for temporary housing, food and clothing as needed, and Disaster Mental Health volunteers are available to help with the emotional aspect of disaster. Those affected will meet with caseworkers in the coming days to work on a longer-term recovery plan.

Greater Rochester Chapter volunteers Doug Scarson and Malachi Rundgren responded to the scene of a fire on East Wautoma Beach Road Hilton, providing food and clothing for one person. Early Monday morning, Disaster Action Team (DAT) volunteers Greg Langen and Lucille Frisicano were called to a fire on North Goodman Street in Rochester, providing temporary housing, food and clothing for one person, and food and clothing for another family of five.

Western New York Chapter volunteers Phil Baker and Deborah Miller first responded to a fire in Ellington, Chautauqua County Friday night, providing three adults with vouchers for food and clothing. Early Saturday morning, DAT volunteers Dominic DiGioralmo and Bob Shook responded to an apartment fire in Cuba, Allegany County, where they opened four cases, providing immediate emergency assistance for six people. Also Saturday, volunteers Diane Sargent, Metrice Jenkins and Luona Yang helped five adults and two children after a fire on Fillmore Avenue in Buffalo. Early Monday morning, Sargent and fellow volunteers George Ortiz and Gwen Gonzalez responded to the scene of a fire on 19^th Street in Niagara Falls, providing housing, food and clothing for seven people from two families. A third family of 17 is expected to seek assistance later today.

The American Red Cross has launched an initiative to reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by home fires by 25 percent over the next five years. The Red Cross is asking every household in America to take two simple steps: check their existing smoke alarms and practice fire drills at home. As part of the Home Fire Preparedness Campaign, the Red Cross is joining with fire departments and community groups nationwide to install free smoke detectors in homes that need them. For more information, please contact Individual and Community Preparedness Specialist Veronica Chiesi Brown at 585-241-4405 or veronica.chiesibrown@redcross.org.

To support home fire survivors across the country, the American Red Cross has launched a new social media campaign called #GiveWhatFireTakes. Donors nationwide have the opportunity to support Red Cross relief efforts. For every amount raised, the Red Cross is able to provide not only recovery items for home fire survivors, but also critical fire safety training and smoke alarm installations to help prevent deaths and injuries. Visit our Crowdwise campaign page, make a direct donation on redcross.org and share what moved you to join the campaign on social media with #GiveWhatFireTakes.

"Waking up the Dead" by Restoring Family Links

One of the perhaps lesser-known services of the American Red Cross is reconnecting families separated internationally. Like most of our services, this is done largely through the efforts of our incredible volunteers such as Mohamed Kissma. Prior to arriving in the United States nearly a year ago, Mohamed worked for the Red Cross Society in his native Sierra Leone. Now an International Services volunteer living in Rochester, Mohamed shared this uniquely personal account of helping a teen now living in Liberia reconnect with his native village:

There is hardly anything more painful than finding oneself in the midst of unfamiliar faces after having been separated from loved ones as a result a nerve-breaking circumstance. Some people could go on an empty stomach for hours or even days because of the grinding pain caused by having no immediate relatives, and in the worst cases no familiar face to turn to. This pain was a common experience Sierra Leonean and Liberian refugees and displaced persons went through during and after years of internal armed conflict. 

Warranted by this situation, the International Red Cross Movement stepped up to its international responsibility by facilitating restoration of family links (RFL) between separated families.

As an RFL caseworker, I completed my notes and proposed actions on each case planned for the following week on a Thursday afternoon and set off for Katanga village to deliver Red Cross Messages (RCMs). A five-year-old boy (now 17) left behind by his parents during a brutal invasion could remember his father’s nick-name and his birth village. The Red Cross registered and kept track of his movement for six months until he could finally put together the pieces of a heart-trembling experience 12 years ago. 

His father was killed during one of the attacks on the village. During this attack his elder brother and sister, ages 10 and 12 at that time, were conscripted by one of the fighting forces. They were later reported dead. The only surviving member of the family was the mother. She lived in a state of despondency in a one-bedroom mud hut on the outskirts of the village since she got back from hiding.

Like most villages in that region, it was the tradition of Katanga to perform sacrifice for the ‘departed’. In observance of this tradition, the community decided to perform a ceremony for her family on a Friday.

I got to this village the same day. On arrival, I went to the chief to observe the usual courtesies. He halted me a few minutes into the briefing. ‘Stop! Stop!’ he said. ‘This is meant for the ears of the entire village’, he jumped out of his seat.

This got me nervous and uneasy! It sent shock waves down my spine. The chief and his men marshaled me to a large gathering a few yards from his house, where the ceremony was taking place. In a split second we were surrounded by almost the entire village.

In a few more seconds a woman in her early fifties emerged from the middle of the crowd. In no time she became the center of attention. It became obvious at that point she was the reason for my visit. It was apparent from the tears raining down her cheek that she already knew about the boy's message.

The chief requested I deliver the message to the woman publicly, against the normal practice. Everyone present burst into tears. Tears of joy, I believe.

A few yards away from where I stood, I overheard an old man say, ‘Red Cross de gi life to die man’ meaning, ‘the Red Cross raises the dead’. No one imagined this could have happened because everyone believed the boy was dead. Receiving a message from him was like waking the dead from the grave.

Food was served and prayers offered for the late father, brother and sister. I collected the reply and took some pictures to deliver to the boy in a refugee camp in Liberia.

What a Week (Plus)!!

To say it's been an exciting 12 days across the WNY/Finger Lakes Region, well, that would be an understatement!

It all started back on Saturday, April 26 with a Disaster Drill. Staff and volunteers opened shelters at five locations across Erie, Niagara, Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming Counties, partnering with local governments and their medical support teams for the drill, which focused on serving those with functional needs together with the general population. Community volunteers acted as shelter residents during the exercise, helping responders practice live situations that could occur in an actual shelter.

Polisseni family members official cut the ribbon to unveil a
new blood bus along with Kay Schwartz and
Nancy Blaschak of the Red Cross (l)

Two days later, a new Traveling Donor Center was unveiled at the Blood Services building in Henrietta. Back in 2012, Greg Polisseni was invited to tour that facility after posting on Facebook that he was nervous about having received another person's blood during a life-saving transfusion. Greg was so impressed with what he saw, he helped convince the Polisseni Family Foundation to make a $250,000 donation that was used to purchase this new Bloodmobile, which will allow the Red Cross to collect thousands of additional units of lifesaving blood across the region every year.

This past Saturday was extremely busy. First, 103 youths between the ages of 11-15 became Red Cross Certified Babysitters during Babysitters Training Day. The Red Cross offers Babysitter's Training on a regular basis, but this unique event offered the course simultaneously-and at a discounted rate-at nine different locations across the Region. 

The Regional Disaster Drill team

I saw some of these teens get a head start on their babysitting careers while at the Greater Rochester Chapter for the Regional Disaster Drill, which was also held there on Saturday. Over 40 volunteers from across the Region came together to respond to a mock tornado in the village of Savona. The live-action, table-top exercise included every activity that would be part of an actual Red Cross response, and it was great to see everyone come together and hone their skills in order to be better prepared to help this community should an actual disaster take place.

Jennifer Schaefer prepared to deploy
to Alabama

During Saturday's drill, Jennifer Schaefer became the ninth local volunteer to deploy to help in actual disaster responses taking place right now in places like Florida, Alabama and Arkansas that have been devastated by recent flooding and tornadoes.

Of course, all of this work is only possible thanks to the generosity of our donors. Monday, we launched a new tradition in Rochester--the Casting for Caring women's event. Dozens of amazing women hit the water at the Rochester Yacht Club to try and catch the big one, then tried reel in some great auction items during an evening reception. The next day was the men's turn, as they competed during the 21st Casting for Caring event, which over the two days raised tens of thousands of dollars to support Red Cross services.

Roberta Van Winkle reels one in during the inaugural
Casting for Caring Women's event

All of this took place as we continued to help our neighbors who have lost everything in a fire, support members of the military and their families, and so much more. We can't say thank you enough to all of the volunteers, staff and supporter who make it all possible, and we promise to keep working hard for this incredible community!!