In 2023, the intensifying climate crisis disasters took a devastating toll on people in the U.S. who turned to the American Red Cross for help coping with a record number of billion-dollar disasters.

So far this year, an all-time high of 25 billion-dollar disasters ravaged communities across the country. Locally, the Red Cross and community partners assisted communities impacted by flooding in portions of the Hudson Valley and Northern New York. And back-to-back disasters led to a series of blood drive cancellations, which further strained the national Red Cross blood supply that was already dwindling from summer travel and back-to-school activities.

“The climate crisis is requiring more humanitarian assistance for families in our region and across the country,” said Kevin Coffey, Chief Executive Officer, Eastern New York Region. “This holiday season, please remember those who need support in the face of emergencies — and join us to provide care and comfort by volunteering, making a financial donation or by giving blood or platelets.”

Help on Giving Tuesday and during the holidays by visiting redcross.org to make a financial donation or an appointment to give blood or platelets. Individuals can also register for volunteer opportunities in their area.

INCREASING SUPPORT AMID THE CLIMATE CRISIS – With the growing frequency and intensity of disasters driven by the climate crisis, the Red Cross is racing to adapt its services and grow its disaster response capacity across the country. As part of this national work in 2023, the Red Cross distributed $108 million in financial assistance directly to people after disasters of all sizes. Major disasters such as Hurricane Idalia, the Hawaii wildfires and a spate of tornadoes across multiple states also drew millions in resources from the Red Cross.

Due to increased needs from the climate crisis, the Red Cross has expanded financial assistance programs for major extreme weather disasters to help families bridge critical recovery gaps, such as security deposits for new housing and costs for home repairs.

Across the country, the Red Cross is delivering this vital financial assistance on top of its immediate relief efforts — including safe shelter, nutritious meals and emotional support — which have been provided on a near-constant basis for this year’s relentless extreme disasters. In fact, this year’s onslaught of large disasters drove an increase in emergency lodging provided by the Red Cross with partners — with overnight stays up more than 50% compared to the annual average for the previous five years.

RESPONDING TO ADDITIONAL EMERGING NEEDS – Beyond the climate crisis, people stepped up through the Red Cross to address other emerging needs for communities, including:

• BLOOD DONATIONS: As the nation’s largest blood supplier, the Red Cross is grateful for the millions of donors who rolled up a sleeve throughout the year for patients in need. To further improve people’s health outcomes, the Red Cross has been working with community partners to introduce blood donation to a new and more diverse generation of blood donors — which is critical to ensuring that a reliable blood supply is available to the 1 in 7 hospital patients who need a lifesaving blood transfusion. The holidays can be a challenging time to collect enough blood for those in need. To book a time to give, visit RedCrossBlood.org, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App or call 1-800-RED CROSS. To celebrate the upcoming Prime Video release, Candy Cane Lane, those that come to give blood in December will be automatically entered to win a holiday prize package, including a $1,000 Amazon.com Gift Card and 65-inch Omni QLED Series Amazon Fire TV. There will be 12 winners. Plus, those who come to give Dec. 1-17 will get a $10 Amazon.com Gift Card by email. Terms for both offers apply. See rcblood.org/Amazon. Candy Cane Lane features an all-star cast, including Eddie Murphy and Tracee Ellis Ross, and directed by Reginald Hudlin.

MILITARY FAMILIES: Red Cross workers helped service members on U.S. military installations and deployment sites worldwide — including in Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. As part of our support this year, Red Cross volunteers delivered emergency communications messages connecting more than 87,000 service members with their loved ones during times of family need, while also engaging members in morale and wellness activities during deployments. The Eastern New York Region recently collected donated items and shipped holiday care packages to military members at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Service to the Armed Forces volunteers also hosted food and sneaker drives throughout the year to support the Veterans Food Pantry at Albany Stratton VA Medical Center.

Visit redcross.org/eny for more information about how residents in all 27 counties in Eastern New York were helped in 2023.