Busy day!

We just finished another planning meeting for The BASH (coming June 7!! Get your tickets now at www.redcross.org/buffalobash!), while at the same time we are deep in preparations for next Tuesday's Reverse Draw Event & Dinner in Niagara Falls. Sometimes, we get so busy putting together these great events that it's easy to forget why we do them in the first place. Then, a day like Tuesday comes along to remind us.

It started with a call to a fire on Wakefield in Buffalo to help 23 people from multiple families who had been affected. Just as volunteers arrived at that scene, a second incident took place at Briscoe in the City, where two more household with 11 total people needing assistance. Things then slowed down for a few hours but picked back up just after dinner, with a call to assist a family of four after a fire on Sunset Blvd in Angola. A couple hours later, our volunteers were called to May St in Buffalo to assist nine more people who were displaced by a fire there. Just as our team was leaving that scene, they were called to another fire on South Park Ave in Buffalo, where two more families had been displaced.

In all, volunteers Jose, Nicole, Julie, Widad, Diane and James provided temporary housing, food, clothing and support to 52 people from 12 families in less than 24 hours, and those numbers could still grow as some folks were not home at the time our team was on the scene. None of these disasters received much media attention, but that doesn't make them any less devastating for the people who were forced from their homes. Your local Red Cross was there to help these neighbors in need, thanks to your support.

So while you're anxiously waiting to see when your ticket will be pulled during the Reverse Draw or celebrating The BASH's 15th Anniversary with over 4,000 of your closest friends, take a moment to think about the real reason we hold events such as these, and know that you're helping give people such as these 12 families somewhere to turn in their most difficult moments. We promise to do the same the next time we're ready to bang our heads on our desks as we try to plan these parties!

Red Cross Heroes Unifrax, Michael J. Hoplight to be Honored at Reverse Draw

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who made the Reverse Draw a huge success! Check out the photos on our Facebook page!

22^nd Annual Event and Dinner scheduled for Tuesday, May 14

Mike Hoplight at American Red Cross in Greater NY
headquarters in Manhattan while serving in the reponse
to Sandy last fall.

BUFFALO, NY, May 7, 2013 - The 22nd Annual Reverse Draw and Dinner to benefit the American Red Cross is scheduled for Tuesday, May 14 at the Conference & Event Center Niagara Falls. This signature event for the American Red Cross in Niagara County reverses the usual raffle strategy by rewarding the final ticket drawn with the grand prize of $3,000. Other prizes donated by various organizations and community members will be awarded throughout the evening. All proceeds benefit the American Red Cross, Serving Erie & Niagara Counties. Red Cross Heroes Unifrax and Michael J. Hoplight will be honored at this year’s event.

What:            22^nd Annual Reverse Draw and Dinner to benefit the American Red Cross, Serving Erie & Niagara Counties

When:           Tuesday, May 14, 2013
                        6pm-9pm

Where:         Conference & Event Center Niagara Falls

                        101 Old Falls Street, Niagara Falls, NY 14303

Why:              Red Cross Heroes Unifrax and Michael J. Hoplight will be honored for their support of the lifesaving mission of the Red Cross. Unifrax has worked with the Red Cross for over 20 years to help meet the emergency needs of people in WNY and around the world following disasters. Hoplight has volunteered with the Red Cross in Niagara County since 1995, and spent more than half of 2012 on deployment, including four separate assignments in NYC and NJ following Superstorm Sandy and three months serving as Assistant Station Manager at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan.

RSVP:            Tickets are $150 each and include hors d’oeurves, dinner for two, one complimentary cocktail per person, and one entry into the Reverse Draw contest for a chance to win up to $3,000 cash plus other great prizes.

Contact Faye at (716) 878-2396 or faye.macclellan@redcross.org for more information.

Arthur Moats, United Way and Red Cross Team Up to Help Local Fire Victims

Bills LB met recipients of gift at dinner Wednesday

Bills LB Arthur Moats with staffers from the Red Cross and
the United Way of Erie County at Red Cross HQ after
meeting the recipients of his generous donation Wednesday

BUFFALO, NY, May 1, 2013– Buffalo Bills linebacker Arthur Moats is helping a Buffalo family that is attempting to rebuild after losing everything in a fire last month. Through a generous donation Moats is providing toys for the children, computers for school, furniture and much more to help this family on the road to recovery. Moats and his family had the opportunity to meet the recipients of their generosity and personally deliver some of these gifts during a private dinner catered by One Eyed Jack’s in Lockport Wednesday evening at the Administrative Headquarters of the American Red Cross, Serving Erie & Niagara Counties. Due to concerns regarding client confidentiality, the recipients of these gifts will remain anonymous.

“This family has been through so much the past few weeks, and it’s my honor to be able to help them get back on their feet,” Moats said. “I hope all of Western New York will join me in helping our neighbors in need by making a donation to the American Red Cross.”
The family has been receiving assistance from the American Red Cross since the fire in early April. Last year, a total of 1,046 people in Erie and Niagara Counties received food, clothing, shelter and support from the Red Cross following a fire or other disaster. All assistance is free, and the Red Cross relies on the generosity of the American public to provide these vital services in the community.

“We are so thankful that Arthur Moats has decided to help this family,” said Nancy Blaschak, Regional Executive Director of the American Red Cross.  “I hope this community will follow his example and make a donation to support us as we help the hundreds of other Western New York families who suffer a similar disaster each year.”

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 charge a $10 donation to your cell phone bill.

WNY is #BostonStrong!

One week ago Monday, explosions rocked the finish line at the Boston Marathon. We've all seen the news coverage of these tragic events, from the bombings to the manhunts to the vigils. Clearly, this has been a difficult week for the entire Boston community, and the Red Cross has been there to support that community since the bombings. And Western New York is here to support the Red Cross.

Yes, I said here. I flew in on Friday to support the local Public Affairs team. I must say it was surreal to watch TV on the plane to see the city I was about to land in was on lockdown. But any hesitation I may have had about coming in to that situation was quickly dashed when I got to the headquarters and got a feel for the amazing work being done to support this community. In the past week, over 200 Red Cross workers have served nearly 20,000 meals and snacks, handed out hundreds of relief items such as blankets and comfort kits, and perhaps most importantly have made over 2,200 health and mental health services. Here's a story I wrote about some of the dozens of Boston area social workers, psychologists and other clinicians who have taken the training and become Red Cross Disaster Mental Health workers in the past week, and have already begun doing some amazing work helping this community heal emotionally following the events of April 15.


Tara Hughes shares coping tips with WCVB-TV viewers
outside a makeshift memorial set up near the Marathon
Bombing scene at Boylston and Berkeley

And who's in charge of the Disaster Mental Health operations during the Boston Marathon relief efforts? Our very own Tara Hughes of Amherst. Tara arrived last Tuesday--"I missed my flight Monday," she says--and has been leading this vital part of the response ever since. She worked to set up a Family Assistance Center to support victims and their families, and has helped lead Disaster Mental Health workers out into the community to support area residents during these trying times. She's put together tips for coping with stressful situations in the aftermath of the bombings, and woke up bright and early Monday morning to share some tips with viewers of Boston's ABC affiliate, WCVB. She also spoke of the importance of this emotional support at a press conference I helped arrange to announce that some of these Red Cross coping tips are going to be posted on subway cars throughout the area, thanks to the generosity of The Boston Foundation and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.



L-R: Red Cross of Eastern MA CEO Jarrett Barrios and
Emergency Services Director Leighton Jones stand with
Tara Hughes holding coping tips that will be
posted on Boston subway trains during
a photo with the Boston Herald 



When I checked into the hotel, who should I find as my roommate but Dominic DiGirolamo. While it's been nice to talk about the Sabres and Bills with someone here, the really nice thing has been hearing about the amazing work he has been doing supporting the families of those affected by the bombings. I can't share the details because it wouldn't be fair to the clients, but just know WNY should be proud of the work he is doing here.

It's not just here in Boston. The Red Cross is helping people after an explosion in West, Texas and flooding throughout the Midwest. And of course, Western New Yorkers are on the way to help, with Diane Sargent heading to Chicago and Tom LeBeau on the way to West. So while we're all #BostonStrong, we're also with everyone dealing with difficult situations all across the country.