Brooklyn, NY. At a special ceremony held in Brooklyn on Tuesday, January 27, 2009, the New York Chapter of Grenada’s National Democratic Congress party, donated a check in the amount of US$3,000.00 to the American Red Cross in Greater New York, intended to aid the ongoing hurricane disasters relief efforts in Haiti. “It is an honor and a privilege to make this donation to the Red Cross for the Haitian Hurricane relief effort,” said Alfred Butler, the Chairman of the NDC NY Chapter, addressing those gathered to witness the handing over of the check at the downtown Brooklyn office of the American Red Cross. “There can be no better organization to present this check to than the Red Cross because we know that these monies would get to the people we intend to benefit,” Butler continued. “We appreciate the accommodation which you are giving to us today; and I am sure that the members of the National Democratic Congress [in NewYork] as well as our party’s affiliates in Grenada are proud and happy that we are doing this,” he said in closing. After accepting the donation, Denise Bloise, the American Red Cross’ Director of Brooklyn and Staten Island Area Offices thanked the NDC New York Chapter for their “very generous and gracious contribution.” “We look forward to applying it to the Haitian relief fund to help as many people in Haiti that are affected by disasters, as possible,” she added. Standing in the company of ________ , Zenobia McNally, a Red Cross board member, and local volunteers, Bloise concluded the ceremony by saying to the NDC members present, “Thank you for thinking of us; thank you again for your generosity.” Besides NDC Chairman Butler, in attendance were Treasurer Estella Charles, Assistant Public Relations Officer Gerry Hopkins, former Executive member Theodore Gordon and active member Wendy Bruno. The donation came primarily as a result of funds collected at a town hall meeting held late last year when the new Prime Minister of Grenada was on his first visit to New York since his NDC party was elected into office on July 8, 2008. The PM’s visit also came just after Haiti was devastatingly hit by a series of four hurricanes, the last of which was Hurricane Ike. These hurricanes left nearly 800 people dead, about 60% of the country's harvest destroyed and entire cities uninhabitable. The American Red Cross in Greater New York provides immediate aid to over 100,000 people that are affected by approximately 3,000 emergencies a year. Fires, floods, building collapses and power outages are responded to. With 36 percent of all disaster responses occurring in Brooklyn, the local area office welcomes the involvement of local residents. In an interview conducted just before the ceremony, Director Bloise indicated that the Red Cross of Greater New York is “looking for about 10,000 volunteers, but right now only has approximately 5,000.” . She also noted that her organization currently has a robust and diverse board and team of volunteers, and is partnering with other organizations like the New York Chamber of Commerce in trying to identify community leaders who can help the organization in its recruitment efforts. Bloise also indicated that under her leadership n Brooklyn and Staten Island, the Red Cross intends to do more to recruit and engage Caribbean Americans in the New York City area. From: The HOPKINS CONSULTING GROUP, LLC INSIDE GRENADA NEWS