Staying prepared, despite the warm winter

Many of us are enjoying this warmer-than-usual winter weather. It's mid-January, and I have yet to break out the snow shovel!  However, we are always encouraging everyone to "Be Red Cross Ready" for an emergency ahead of time, so what good would we be if we didn't do the same?

When and if the snow hits, it's entirely possible that we could find ourselves needing to open a shelter or warming station as we did after lake effect snow shut down portions of the NYS Thruway in December 2010.  The people coming to the Red Cross for help will expect to be provided warm, clean blankets.  Many of those blankets made their way downstate last fall to be used in shelters following the flooding and power outages caused by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.  But thanks to the support of the Western New York community, we're once again ready to help when called upon!

Amanda Campbell re-stocks trailers with blankets cleaned
by The Laundry Lounge in Niagara Falls

One of our Board members, Gregory Ford, owns The Laundry Lounge on Niagara Falls Boulevard in the Falls.  Mr. Ford and his staff cleaned and packaged 196 blankets for us at no charge!  And as if that wasn't enough, Laundry Lounge employees have also made generous donations in support of the Red Cross mission!

These blankets have now been packed into trailers along with other supplies in preparation of a winter storm or sheltering operation.  So while we may all hope that winter never truly arrives, the Red Cross will be ready if it does, thanks in no small part to the folks at a Niagara Falls laundromat!!

Disaster doesn't take a holiday

Many of us spent much of the last couple of weeks celebrating with friends and family. Between Christmas, New Year's and all the other holidays, the end of December and beginning of January should be busy but happy times.

Unfortunately, disaster doesn't take the holidays off.  Since December 23rd, we've responded to 11 separate fires and other related incidents in Erie County, providing for the immediate emergency needs of 55 people.


Photo courtesy wgrz.com

 Among the recent cases, our Disaster Action Team provided assistance to eight people, including young children, following a late Christmas Eve fire on Broadway in Depew. On Christmas Day, our volunteers responded to three separate incidents, assisting eight people in the City of Buffalo. Food, clothing and shelter were provided to two individuals following a fatal fire on Main Street in Clarence on December 29^th, and mental health services were offered to all involved in this tragedy. On New Year’s Eve, the Red Cross provided assistance to 18 people following a rooming house fire on Ashley Street in Buffalo.

We could not provide this vital emergency service to the community without volunteers such as Betsy Crocker of Amherst, Melissa Morris of Buffalo, Fred Pask of Akron, Sandra Rhoat of Cheektowaga, Diane Sargent of Lockport and Pete Swales from Springville, who along with staff members Amanda Campbell and Christine Kukelka sacrificed some of their family time this holiday to respond to these incidents and help our neighbors in need. We say this all the time, yet it's never enough--THANK YOU for everything that you do!

If you'd like to Join Us as a Disaster Action Team member, please contact volunteer coordinator Christine Kukelka at kukelkac@usa.redcross.org or visit www.buffaloredcross.org.

Resolve to help others--and cut your tax bill--this New Year's!

Photo courtesy mama-knows.com

This time of year, many of us are making some New Year's resolutions. Often, these involve eating better, getting more exercise and other plans for self-improvement during the coming year. For proof, just check out the extra cars in the parking lot at your local gym over the next few weeks!

Many people also make charitable contributions at the end of the year as part of this holiday tradition. The American Red Cross urges you to resolve to help your neighbors in need by making a tax-deductible donation to the Red Cross before the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve.

A Red Cross national poll found that 57 percent of those surveyed planned to donate to charity during the holiday season, and more than half of them (54 percent) plan to give at least $50. Nationally, donations in December account for about 20 percent of all non-disaster contributions from the public to the Red Cross, and we depend on these donations to provide hope, help and compassion.

Hundreds of thousands of people needed help from the Red Cross in 2011, their lives forever changed by disasters like tornadoes, floods, wildfires and hurricanes in the U.S., and earthquakes and other disasters around the world. In the U.S., the Red Cross launched 137 domestic disaster relief operations in 46 states and territories to help people affected by fires, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes. In addition, major international disasters included the Japan earthquake and tsunami response and the continuing work following the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The need was evident here in Erie and Niagara Counties over the Christmas weekend as our Disaster Action Team responded to multiple fires, providing emergency assistance to families that lost everything in the blink of an eye this holiday.

If your New Year's Resolutions include helping those less fortunate, you can make a donation at www.redcross.org, by calling 1-800-REDCROSS, or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation (charges will appear on your cell phone bill). 

In addition, you can still go to the American Red Cross Holiday Gift Catalog and buy a symbolic gift. These also are tax-deductible contributions to the overall Red Cross mission. The catalog includes donations for items such as a military comfort kit filled with a phone card, robe, shower shoes, toiletries and an MP3 music gift card for those who have been wounded. Disaster-related items include blankets to wrap around a woman standing in her yard this winter after her house has burned to the ground; hot meals to make sure no one goes hungry when a disaster strikes; or a toothbrush, soap and other essential personal care supplies for a child sheltered from a storm. For those with global interests, the Holiday Gift Catalog contains a number of gifts to bring Red Cross services to people in crisis overseas. These include emergency water containers to help families collect and store clean water, tarps to provide temporary shelter and shovels to dig ditches when floods threaten.

What better way to finish 2011 than with early action on a resolution to lend a helping hand? Help someone in need and resolve to contribute to the Red Cross before the traditional singing of Auld Lang Syne, and you'll also be helping yourself to break on your 2011 taxes. Now that's something we can all raise our champagne glasses to this New Year's Eve!!

Ryan Fitzpatrick Scores Big For Two Local Families

As a certified sports junkie, I can tell you that it's getting harder and harder to be a fan these days.  It seems there's more arrests, lawsuits and big money wheeling and dealing in the sports pages than there are scores.  But for every negative story involving athletes, there's many more positive ones that don't get nearly as much attention, and we're lucky to have many of the good ones playing right here in Western New York.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and his wife played Santa Claus to two families who lost everything in separate fires in November of this year.  Even though his beard is brown and not white, "FitzMagic" provided a little more to these families than Saint Nick usually leaves under the tree.  Thanks to a generous donation through the United Way, the Fitzpatrick's have completely stocked these families new homes with furniture, TVs, computers for school, household supplies, blankets and, of course, toys.  Over coffee and donuts generously donated by Tim Horton's, the families got to met their "Secret Santa" at our Administrative Headquarters on Delaware Avenue Friday evening, as the Fitzpatrick's took time out of their busy schedule to personally deliver just some of the holiday cheer their support made possible.

The stories of these families, like so many that come through our doors throughout the year, are heartbreaking.  But to see the looks on their faces when they met the star quarterback and saw what he did for them really made me understand what the holiday spirit is all about, and every one of you that has ever donated, volunteered or supported the Red Cross in any way should know that you help create those same feelings all year round.

With seven straight losses heading into this afternoon's game against the Broncos, it's easy to wonder if there's been anything positive to come out of this 2011 Bills season.  But no matter what the results are on the field, Ryan Fitzpatrick has shown us he is definitely someone we can all root for!