Red Cross Opening Shelter for Residents Displaced by Forest Avenue Fire

Disaster Action Team also assisting residents following fire on Timon St

Red Cross shelter at St. Paul's Cathedral in downtown
Buffalo for residents displaced by an apartment fire on
Forest Avenue

BUFFALO, NY, February 22, 2013– Volunteers from the American Red Cross, Serving Erie & Niagara Counties are currently opening a shelter for residents displaced by an apartment fire on Forest Avenue in the City of Buffalo overnight which displaced a total of 27 people. That shelter is located at St. Paul’s Cathedral, 128 Pearl Street in Buffalo.

“The Red Cross would like to thank St. Paul’s Cathedral for opening its doors to these neighbors in need who have lost everything,” said Kenneth Turner, Chief Programs Officer. “We also want to thank the NFTA, who provided a warm bus for our volunteers to meet with these clients on scene and is providing transportation for our clients to Social Services and to the shelter as needed, as well as our amazing volunteers for answering the call to help those in need in the middle of the night.”

Earlier Friday morning, Disaster Action Team volunteers responded to a separate fire on Timon Street in Buffalo. Four residents have been placed in a local hotel on a temporary basis, and it is possible additional residents may need assistance. Red Cross assistance typically includes vouchers for temporary housing, food, clothing, and emotional support for those displaced by a fire. Clients are then expected to meet with caseworkers in the coming days 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 how to Join Us as a Disaster Action Team member, please call (716) 878-2140 or visit www.redcross.org/buffaloniagara.

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 those 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 make a $10 donation (charges will appear on your cell phone bill).   

50th WNY Volunteer Deploys to Assist in Sandy Response

Susan Peek of Buffalo to work in Operations Management in Greater NY

Susan Peek of Buffalo

BUFFALO, NY, February 20, 2013 – Susan Peek of Buffalo travelled to the Greater NYC Region on Tuesday to volunteer with the ongoing American Red Cross relief and recovery efforts following Superstorm Sandy. Peek, who will work in Operations Management, is the 50^th volunteer from the eight-county Western New York region to deploy as part of the Sandy operation since the storm made landfall in late October, 2012. With several of those volunteers having served multiple deployments, the WNY Region has filled more than 67 assignments to date.

Nearly four months since Superstorm Sandy’s landfall, the Red Cross is still hard at work providing food, emotional support and long-term assistance. The Red Cross has been distributing an average of 50,000 meals and snacks each day in New York. Thanks to the public’s generous support, our work so far includes:

•          Serving nearly 13 million meals and snacks.
•          Handing out nearly 7 million relief items, including cold weather items and clean-up supplies.
•          Providing more than 112,000 health services and emotional support contacts for people who have been living in very tough conditions. 

WNY Regional Executive Director Nancy Blaschak continues to serve as Interim Sr. Director for the Sandy Long Term Recovery Project in NYC and Long Island. Part of the coordinated efforts in the coming weeks will include grants to support the work of a broad coalition of nonprofits. Already, the Red Cross has granted nearly $6 million to three food banks in New York, supported the work of Operation Hope to provide assistance and financial counseling to survivors, and committed $5 million to a mold remediation program to help New York residents clean up their homes. For the next several months, a big part of the recovery efforts will be working one-on-one with people who need some extra help, and this work is underway. For more on the Red Cross response to Sandy, visit www.redcross.org. 

Red Cross Responds to Five Fires in Niagara County

Volunteers provided shelter, food, clothing & support to 16 people since Feb 1

BUFFALO, NY, February 14, 2013 – The American Red Cross, Serving Erie & Niagara Counties has responded to five separate fires in Niagara County since February 1. Volunteers from the Disaster Action Team (DAT) provided immediate emergency assistance to 16 people affected by these incidents.

In the early morning hours of Friday, February 1, the Red Cross was called to assist seven people displaced by a fire at an apartment complex on Lafayette Avenue in Niagara Falls. On Saturday, February 9, volunteers assisted a single mom and her child following a fire on Pound Street in Lockport. On Tuesday, DAT members responded to an apartment fire on State Street in Middleport, assisting two adults from separate units. Wednesday, two adults and one child received assistance after a fire on Niagara Street in Niagara Falls, and Thursday our volunteers responded to a call to assist two adults following a fire on Mapleton Road in Pendleton.

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.

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, 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.

Thanks and good luck, "Senator!"

It's not every morning that my daily media search for Red Cross mentions leads me to the sports section. So I was a little surprised this morning that entering "Red Cross" into the Buffalo News search engine led me to the article on the Buffalo Bills releasing Nick Barnett and George Wilson. But I shouldn't have been.

First, some quick background. In my previous career as a television sports producer, we called George Wilson "The Senator" because of his speaking skills. The safety was always one of our "go-to guys" in the Bills locker room because we know he would always answer our questions thoughtfully and respectfully. There are a number of sports reporters and broadcasters in Western New York whose jobs got a little more difficult now that Wilson is gone.

Former Bills safety George Wilson with Communications
Coordinator Jay Bonafede at Ralph Wilson Stadium
blood drive in December

But the media aren't the only people in town that will miss George Wilson. As the article above points out, he was named the team's Walter Payton Man of the Year twice for his work in the community. That work included serving as a spokesman for Red Cross blood drives at Ralph Wilson Stadium. I spoke with him at the drive in December, which brought in over 350 units of blood, and he could not have been more gracious.

Change is constant in the world of sports, and new players will come in to fill these spots on the Bills roster. But George Wilson (and Nick Barnett, whom we never dealt with but by all accounts is also a great guy) will be missed here in Western New York. We thank you for all you've done, and wish you luck in the future!