What We Do

From a single-family house fire to a major disaster such as Hurricane Floyd, the Red Cross Disaster Services program provides relief for residents of Durham, Granville, Person and Vance counties. Through its volunteers, the Red Cross touches the lives of hundreds of people a year in the Durham and Granville communities.

The Central North Carolina Chapter also provides crucial services to members of the armed forces and their families through the Armed Forces Emergency Services (AFES) program 24 hours a day in the event of a military emergency.

None of these services would be possible without the dedication of our Emergency Services volunteers. They fill a wide variety of roles and provide countless services to the community.

TOUCHED BY DISASTER

When two lives cross paths twice at critical times, 500 miles apart, is it just a strange coincidence or some greater force at work?

It was early Thanksgiving Day 2003 on Long Island, New York, when the home of Veronica Green, her husband Carlton and four-year-old daughter Natalie burned to the ground.

Thankfully, the American Red Cross and a Red Cross professional, Esther Bevers-Ng, were there to provide emergency assistance to the family. Though the family had moved in with parents until they could get back on their feet, they still needed the Red Cross for clothing, recovery counseling and other necessities. The American Red Cross was glad to help. The only other thing Veronica needed was a bed for Natalie to sleep on, something that is not part of Red Cross disaster assistance.

After pondering Veronica’s predicament for a few moments, Esther remembered that she had an extra bed at her house and made arrangements to get it to the Greens. Veronica was deeply touched by Esther’s caring and generosity.

A few weeks later, Esther called to invite the Greens to a Holiday Party the Red Cross chapter was giving for the children in the county who had lost their homes to fire during the year. Veronica watched with delight as daughter Natalie sat in Santa Claus’s lap, opened the presents he gave her for what might otherwise have been a bleak Christmas. She vowed that, one day, she would do for other people what Esther and the Red Cross had done for her and her family.

Four years later in 2007, Veronica was moving to North Carolina with her family. She made herself a promise that this year would be the one that she did something for the Red Cross. Upon arriving in the Triangle, she told her story to her new boss, Jim Sheehan with UBS Financial Services and proposed that their office sponsor a holiday party for Red Cross disaster clients just like the one she had taken Natalie to. He quickly agreed.

Veronica quickly called the Central North Carolina Chapter of the American Red Cross in Durham. As she began telling her story to the staff person she had been directed to, the woman interrupted her. “Where did you move here from?” “Long Island, New York,” Veronica replied, “I was helped by the Red Cross chapter in Mineola.” “I used to work in the Mineola chapter,” the voice on the other end said. Veronica, shocked at the strange coincidence, asked, “Did you know Esther Bevers-Ng?” “This is Esther Bevers-Ng. You aren’t the lady I gave the bed to, are you?” Veronica was so overwhelmed with shock, disbelief and joy, she was unable to speak.

Esther, it seems, had moved with her husband Daniel to the Triangle in December 2006 and had taken a job with the Central NC Chapter as the emergency services director, the same job she had left in New York, when she helped Veronica. Since arriving in Durham, she had been looking for an individual or company to sponsor a holiday party for kids in Durham who had their homes destroyed, much like the holiday celebration in New York. She was frustrated that she had not secured a sponsor for the holiday party and had just about given up hope of having one in 2007.

That is when the call came from Veronica. This time, it was Veronica coming to Esther’s rescue; the relationship had come full-circle.

On December 9, 2007, the American Red Cross and UBS Financial held a holiday party for more than thirty children who had lost their homes to fire over the past year. Pizza, fun games and activities, prizes and of course, gifts from Santa Claus, filled the room with shouts of joy and laughter. If only for a few hours the holiday party gave the children a reason to forget all they had endured during the past year and to instead, feel very, very special – the way all children should feel this time of year.

It was all thanks to an American Red Cross staff person named Esther who went the extra mile for someone in need and to a special woman named Veronica who wanted to give back to an organization that had so helped her family. The event made a huge impact on the families that attended thanks to Esther, Veronica and her family and to the incredible cosmic coincidence that brought these special people together in times of need … not just once but twice … and not in one place, but in two places 500 miles apart.

Coincidence? Perhaps not!

Natalie’s Account of the Family Fire

“On Thanksgiving 2003, my family had a house fire in New York. We left the house with nothing. Luckily, my mom woke up just in time. When my mom woke up she saw smoke coming out of the closet, she had no idea it was a fire.

Dad went in the house to see what was happening. It was a house fire! When we figured out it was a house fire, Mom ran out of the house with no shoes on. My grandfather called the fire department. It was hard seeing the house burn down like that and the firefighters breaking the widows.

My family was staying in my grandparent’s house. We were lucky though. There was this place called the Red Cross. They were so nice to us. This lady named Esther gave me a bed to sleep in and had a Christmas party. Now my family is going to do the same thing. We are going to have a party for the people who had a house fire. Maybe we can give them items like clothes that my sister Chelsea and I cannot fit into anymore or toys we don’t want. I can have more friends, too. We can be kind, can you?

When I grow up maybe I’m going to be like Esther, the nice lady that gave me my bed. I’m so glad that the people at the Red Cross helped.

EstherBevers-Ng and the Green family

L-R Veronica, Natalie, Esther, Chelsea and Carlton