By Leo Boksner
The Greenwich-based headquarters of the American Red Cross ‘Metro New York North Chapter’ is fundraising for renovations. The renovation process, which has been ongoing for 2 years, aims to significantly improve the facility. Of the effort, CEO Stephanie Dunn Ashley of the Metro New York North Chapter said, “This construction project is about building our future with modern technology and communications infrastructure.”
To reach the renovation goals, the MNYN Chapter set out to raise $2 million. Now, the Red Cross is presenting a new way for those looking to make donations: personalized bricks. People interested in supporting the local chapter can now donate to purchase a brick engraved with names chosen by their donors, which will be used to pave the walkway of the newly renovated headquarters. Describing the fundraising process, the organization said that buying a brick and engraving names onto it works both to “support the lifesaving of the American Red Cross” and “honor your loved ones”. MNYN CEO Dunn Ashley echoed this sentiment, saying that “This patio, with its individual bricks commemorating friends, neighbors and families is truly a representation of how individuals come together to build communities, to support one another, and to power the Red Cross.”
To purchase a brick, a prospective donor can go to the Metro New York North Chapter’s page on the Red Cross website, in which the “Buy a Brick” campaign can be found. There, a donation of $500 will allow one to write in a name or group of names, indicating friends, family, or others, and know that it will be inscribed into a brick, making it a “permanent part of the American Red Cross.” Rules laid out by the Red Cross on text include a limit to three lines, with each line bound to 18 characters.
Each brick will line the walkway outside the American Red Cross Chapter’s three-floor headquarters building, located at 99 Indian Field Road in Greenwich. Having used this headquarters on Indian Field Road since 2001, when a previous series of commemorative bricks were laid out at the entrance, the new 2023 fundraising bricks will be placed alongside the existing 2001 bricks, and unveiled together once the renovations are complete.
The Metro New York North Chapter of the American Red Cross, whose headquarters in Greenwich are the target of this fundraising effort, serve not only the Greenwich area but surrounding counties as well, such as Westchester and Rockland. This chapter is just one part of the wider American Red Cross organization, a group that provides humanitarian and disaster-response work across the country. At the Metro New York North Chapter, local services provided include blood donation in the building’s Jill and John Coyle Blood Donor center, one of the new rooms added since renovations began in 2021. Work like this and more, supported by volunteers and donors, is a hallmark of the American Red Cross and its local chapter in Greenwich.
The current instance of renovation, supported by the brick fundraising campaign, is looking to bolster the American Red Cross’ building and capabilities for the coming years. Referring to this, Heather Wise and Pamela Farr of the Metro New York North Chapter’s ‘PreResponder campaign’ stated that “We must continually adapt and improve to keep the Red Cross strong and vital in our community for decades to come”. Through donation support and the purchasing of engraved bricks to be laid outside the headquarters, anyone can contribute to this goal.
The American Red Cross continues to work on the renovation at their chapter headquarters in Greenwich, calling it a “campaign to help build our future, brick by brick.”
