"The response of New York Chapter volunteers to Hurricane Katrina was just phenomenal,” said Jennifer Cunningham, Director of Volunteer Resources for ARC/GNY.  “We couldn't have given so much assistance to so many storm survivors without our generous volunteers.”

In the days and weeks after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast, dedicated local volunteers played a crucial role in the New York Chapter"s disaster response. Not only did they staff phones, train new volunteers, and help families that fled the South and came to New York, they also stepped up to help storm survivors at Red Cross shelters in the Gulf States.

Read how our remarkable volunteers helped with ARC/GNY’s unprecedented hurricane relief efforts.

The Hurricane Call Center

• More than 700 new volunteer trainees handled more than 19,300 calls to 1-866-GET INFO, the national American Red Cross emergency hotline
• The Call Center was open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week between August 28 and October 29
• An initial 10 stations on-site were expanded to 19 stations off-site to meet the high demand

Help For Katrina Families Here

• More than 1,760 families from the Gulf Coast registered with us and received Red Cross family assistance here in New York
• Volunteers staffed NYC’s Hurricane Welcome Center and Disaster Assistance Service Center (DASC) each day for more than two months
• More than 400 Katrina evacuees were housed for up to three months in Red Cross arranged hotel rooms in New York City  
• ARC/GNY provided three meals a day and ongoing mental health counseling to Katrina evacuees in hotels for months after the disaster

Disaster Service Training
One of the most ambitious training programs ever in New York 

• The Chapter exceeded the training goal assigned by the national Red Cross and recruited and prepared 2,513 new Disaster Service Volunteers for potential deployment to national disasters and emergencies here in New York
• More than 2,000 spontaneous volunteers have taken our “Introduction to Disaster Services” classes, offered in every borough and county we serve
• Hundreds more have taken additional Disaster Service Training in everything from “Client Services” to “Disaster Assessment”

Deployment to the Gulf Coast
More than 250 NY Chapter Responders served in the Gulf Coast, including: 

• Previously-trained disaster volunteers and staff responders
• DART (Disaster Action Rescue Teams) that traveled together as units
• 150 new volunteers, with hundreds more that are currently “in the pipeline” being interviewed and trained

Service Support

• Volunteers staffed the Welcome Desk in the lobby of Chapter Headquarters, where they distributed hurricane relief information and collected in-person donations from generous New Yorkers
• Volunteers also staffed a phone bank, spoke to people interested in volunteering, and called potential volunteers to set up appointments
• Volunteers assisted in a variety of areas under financial development, including helping to process contributions