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.

Accentuate the Positive

You may have seen and heard some negative stories surrounding the two-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy's landfall. The American Red Cross has responded to the reporting done by ProPublica and NPR (some of those responses can be found here, here and here), but it is still very difficult for those of us who were there not to take these stories personally. As my friend and volunteer Pete Swales, who spent 39 days working on the Sandy response, told me, "What ProPublica and NPR claim hurts terribly, and brings back all the ruination we witnessed and the amazing gratitude of the New Yorkers, even those that were not affected!"

What was left Michael O'Hanlon's Breezy Point home
after Superstorm Sandy

The last part of that sentence is what I want to focus on, the incredible work that I personally witnessed during my two weeks in NYC in November 2012. I think back to Miss Cynthia in the Rockaways, who was so grateful for the efforts of the nearly 17,000 volunteers who worked on the Sandy response that she told my colleague Katie and I, "You shouldn't be called the Red Cross. You should all be called angels." Or being interrupted while speaking to a union meeting by Michael O'Hanlon, who said, "The Red Cross is awesome!" He later showed my colleague Julie and I the pictures of what remained of his Breezy Point home, explaining that we had provided the only hot meals his family had eaten since swimming out of their home three weeks earlier. I am so proud to have been just one of the hundreds of Western and Central New Yorkers who have their own stories of traveling to help our downstate neighbors in need, and each of those incredible volunteers should remember the millions of people who were so grateful they were there to help them.

You may have also heard that the Red Cross is currently undergoing a transition in order to meet the growing demand for our services. While this will allow us to help even more people because we are operating more efficiently, changes such as these are never easy. But thanks to our amazing volunteers and supporters, the great work of the Red Cross continues in our communities each and every day. Last Tuesday, for example, two hours after arriving on the scene of an early-morning apartment fire in Niagara Falls, our volunteers had opened a shelter for the dozens of displaced families, without ever having stepped foot in the Niagara Falls office.

An Emergency Response Vehicle distributes supplies and
information to areas around Penn Yan hard-hit by flooding
in May

We know this new structure can work because it has already. In September 2013, the Yates County Chapter in Penn Yan was closed. Less than a year later, that area was affected by massive flooding. "We weren't happy when the office closed," Yates County Deputy EMO Diane Cabes told me. "But you were there when you needed to be, providing very beneficial services that were very appreciated." Those services included opening a shelter at the Penn Yan Academy in the initial hours after the storm's impact, then providing a total of 34 overnight shelter stays, serving serving over 600 meals and snacks, distributing 238 clean-up kits and providing emotional support and referrals to help the community get back on its feet in the weeks that followed.

"Disasters don't always happen where offices and staff are," said volunteer Donna Davis, who was among the first to respond in Penn Yan while water was still running through the streets. "Staff and volunteers know what to do. Regardless of where a disaster happens, if there's a need, the volunteers will be there."

That's the message that I hope everyone remembers moving forward. The Red Cross has the most incredible volunteers and supporters, and thanks to them, each of our communities will be able to count on us to provide these vital services tomorrow and for years to come.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton students help Penn Yan Children

Mrs. Pucino’s third grade classroom at Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elementary School in Seneca Falls participated in one final act of kindness prior to the start of the summer vacation.  The children followed the local news in their classroom about the flooding in Penn Yan in May.  Many homes and businesses suffered significant damage and families lost many personal belongings.

With the help and encouragement of their teacher Mrs. Pucino, the students collected stuffed animals and toys for the boys and girls in Penn Yan so they would have something to call their own.  One of the students and an American Red Cross volunteer then delivered those items to the boys and girls. For their act of kindness and selflessness, the students along with Mrs. Pucino received a certificate from the American Red Cross on the final day of school, thanking them for “making a difference”.

Mrs. Pucino retired from the Seneca Falls School District this past June after 40 years of service.  During that time she shared the importance of always using both your head and your heart.  Her classroom did just that!  They used their head to find a project which met a need and their hearts to make sure the project was a success for those counting on them.  These students followed the example and the mission of the Red Cross of alleviating human suffering by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors. We thank them and look forward to them becoming future Red Cross volunteers!

 

Flooding from Penn Yan and Beyond - The American Red Cross Responds - Everywhere

I grew up in a small town similar to Penn Yan. It is the type of place that some people may have never heard of and few may have visited until now.  I myself knew where it was but had never been there until after the flooding.

Driving down to Penn Yan, it was hard to tell that there was a flood. It wasn’t until you got right into the center of the village you saw what everyone was talking about. Cars were at an angle mixed in with uprooted pavement in a parking lot. A building collapsed and mud was all over the place. It really did look like something out of a movie. At one point water was gushing down a residential street and crews were trying to get sandbags out fast enough to protect homes with the water well above their knees.

  

 

 The day before I actually got to Penn Yan, people said creeks and streams flowed rapidly over and onto roads and parking lots pushing large rocks like they were tiny pebbles. I saw the creek they were talking about when I got there. It looked like white water rapids and not a little narrow body of water that usually is so peaceful. I saw the aftermath of mud all over the street, parking lot and tennis courts.

 It is through a situation like this that you see humanity in action. Webster’s Dictionary defines humanity as “the quality or state of being kind to other people or to animals” It is one of the principles of the American Red Cross. The Red Cross is there whenever disaster strikes to, as the organization’s mission states, “alleviate human suffering”. Volunteers deploy to these areas in need of help bring a glimmer of hope in a seemingly hopeless situation.

That brings me to probably the most awe inspiring FACT about this disaster. 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.

 

 While volunteers were in Yates County dealing with flooding other volunteers were dispatched to Monroe County in Fairport to provide relief for those impacted after flooding along the Erie Canal.  Still other volunteers in Wayne County helped a family who had suffered carbon monoxide poisoning in their home while their colleagues were still assisting with flooding.

So next time you ask yourself about the American Red Cross and what they do, think of this week in May of 2014. Volunteers (whom make up more than 90 percent of the Red Cross) and staff were spread throughout the Region providing assistance to those in need because that is what the Red Cross does.  The Red Cross is always there and will always be there when the dust, mud, wind, snow and rain settle.  How can they be everywhere? Through the generosity of donors like you they can be. With your generosity, the Red Cross is able to be the light at the end of the tunnel.  Isn’t it comforting to know that if you ever have to deal with a disaster, there are people just waiting there to help you – The American Red Cross.

-Veronica R. Chiesi Brown