Lights, Camera, Action!

All of us who work here at 786 Delaware Avenue know how lucky we are to have the Clement Mansion as our Buffalo office. Today, Hollywood took notice of how special this place is and gave this beautiful building the star treatment.

Cameras were not allowed on the closed set,
but I did grab this picture out our office window.

The crew from Centre Street Film descended upon the Clement Mansion this afternoon to shoot scenes for the upcoming film, "The American Side". The movie is set in the Queen City, and has been shooting at various locations around Western New York for the past few weeks. Location scout Dan Milner told me most of the filming has been done in about a two-mile radius of our headquarters, and that producers loved our building and wanted to include it in the film.

As anyone following this story knows, the biggest name attached to the project is Ferris Bueller himself, Matthew Broderick. He never set foot in the Mansion, but there were dozens of crew members working with producer Jonathan Shoemaker and director Jenna Ricker, painstakingly setting up every shot. Even as a former TV news producer (or perhaps BECAUSE I'm a former TV person used to one-two person shoots), I was stunned by the number of people and amount of time involved in getting short video clips to use in the film. The yard was like a real movie set, complete with a catering truck (I was invited to eat, but politely declined). Everyone involved with this project could not have been nicer or easier to work with, and I'm told the Mansion looked amazing on camera.

I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille!

The set was closed, so I don't have any plot details and don't know how the Clement Mansion fits into the story. But Milner tells me co-writer and star Greg Stuhr is a Western New Yorker, and that the movie is "a love story for Buffalo." Milner himself couldn't say enough about the city, our architecture and of course, the people of Buffalo. We are very proud and honored to be a small part of this project, and can't wait to see the "The American Side"! And if you can't wait until the movie comes out to see this beautiful building, join us Sept 21-22 for our
Clement Mansion Centennial Celebration!

Play safer this sports season with Red Cross training

Back to school also means back to practice for thousands of student athletes and coaches. The American Red Cross has training and resources available for people to learn how to treat a variety of emergencies and injuries that may occur throughout the sports season.

“School and neighborhood coaches, athletes and spectators should know how to help prevent and respond to common sports injuries such as strains and sprains, fractures, cuts and concussions,” said Nancy M. Blaschak, Regional CEO.

Safe Kids Worldwide reports that a child is hurt playing sports every 25 seconds and that more than 1 million emergency room visits are made due to sports injuries each year. Sports injuries account for about 20 percent of all injury-related emergency room visits for young people, according to their study.

The Red Cross has developed a number of resources for everyone involved in sports and recreational activities:

·         First Aid, Health and Safety for Coaches is an online program for teens and adults who coach at any age level. Developed with the National Federation of State High School Associations, this course covers first aid skills including breathing emergencies and injuries to muscles, bones and joints. Coaches are encouraged to take a CPR/AED course as well.

·         Family First Aid and CPR is an online course for those not required to have OSHA-compliant certification. Participants learn how to treat cardiac, breathing and first aid emergencies until help arrives. Pediatric modules are also available.

·         American Red Cross First Aid App is a free app for smart phones and tablets. It gives users instant access to information on how to handle the most common first aid situations, and includes videos and interactive quizzes. The app puts lifesaving information right in people’s hands wherever and whenever they need it.

Information on courses and additional resources are available at redcross.org. A variety of Red Cross apps can be found in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for Android by searching for American Red Cross, or by going to redcross.org/mobileapps.

Beat the Heat

“Heat can be especially hazardous to anyone exercising or playing outdoors this time of year. People should avoid scheduling workouts and exercise during the hottest times of the day,” added Blaschak.  “Take frequent breaks and stay hydrated.”

Preparedness to help keep a promise

As soon as I first heard the rumbles of thunder overnight, I knew my wife and I would soon have company. Sure enough, just before one of the loudest thunder claps during what turned out to be an impressive storm, our six year old walked into the room, saying, "I really don't like the thunder." In the interest of getting any sleep, we let him crawl into bed with us, and like any good parent I told him that daddy wouldn't let anything hurt him.

Of course, as I thought about it today, I realized that's not really a promise that I can keep. For all the things we parents do to keep our children safe, we can't control the weather and the damage it could cause. But we can certainly prepare for it. We should all have an emergency kit ready to go should we need to leave immediately and a plan for where we would go, and have flashlights ready should the power be knocked out.

The best way to be prepared is to know what's coming so you can get to a safe place before the storm hits. Wednesday afternoon, my Red Cross Tornado app alerted me to a Severe Thunderstorm Warning in Erie, Genesee and Wyoming Counties. That was extremely useful information since my cubicle has no windows and it was sunny when I arrived to work!

So no, we may not be able to guarantee we can keep our children safe. But we can help them stay out of harm's way and be prepared for whatever Mother Nature has in store.

Busy weekend for our amazing volunteers!

Volunteers set up refreshments in shelter
at North Tonawanda HS

Volunteers from the American Red Cross, Serving Erie & Niagara Counties provided immediate emergency assistance for 19 people following four separate fires in less than 24 hours this weekend.

Members of the Disaster Action Team (DAT) were called to two storm-related fires in the early morning hours on Saturday, assisting a family of five after a tree fell on their Austin Street home in Buffalo and started a small fire, and assisting an elderly man after his Lackawanna trailer home was destroyed by fire. Before 3pm Saturday, DAT volunteers had responded to two calls in Niagara Falls, assisting three adults and a child after a fire on LaSalle Avenue in and seven adults and two children after a separate blaze on 5^th Street. Red Cross assistance typically includes vouchers for temporary housing, food and clothing as well as emotional support. Clients will then meet with caseworkers to begin working on a long-term recovery plan.

Thankfully, we did not need to unload the cots from this
trailer, but they were ready at North Tonawanda HS
just in case

Meanwhile, volunteers opened a shelter at approximately 10:30am Saturday at North Tonawanda High School at the request of Emergency Management officials for residents flooded and left without power following Friday night’s storms. No clients sought assistance at the shelter before it was closed Saturday afternoon, but the Red Cross remained in contact with Emergency Management officials from across the region to assess needs throughout the weekend.

All Red Cross is assistance is free, and we rely on the generosity of the American public to provide these vital services to the community. Anyone wishing to help people affected by fires, flooding or other disasters is asked to consider donating to the Disaster Relief Fund by calling 1-800-REDCROSS, visiting www.redcross.org, or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to charge a $10 donation to their cell phone bill.