Last week the Red Bulls announced they would be donating a minimum of $250,000, plus half of the gate revenue from the final leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, to the American Red Cross, The Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, and The Mayor's Fund for NYC Hurricane Relief in an effort to assist the community in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. On Monday, Nov. 12, the organization took it a step further and assisted the American Red Cross’ relief efforts by lending a hand at a supplies warehouse in Jersey City.
Over 40 members of the Red Bulls front office, alongside players Kenny Cooper, Luis Robles and Jeremy Vuolo, offered a helping hand by assisting the American Red Cross in a number of necessities ranging from unloading pallets of donations, packing relief items into individual bags, loading up trucks and sending the shipments off to those in need.
"It's great to see people from the organization come out to lend a hand,” said Christina Giunta, Community Relations Manager for the New York Red Bulls. “From the players to the front office, everyone was eager and willing to find a way to give back to the community in the wake of Hurricane Sandy."
The process was simple – grab two open, empty bags at the start of the “assembly line.” Walk down the center aisle with the bags open, allowing other volunteers to fill them with items such as glow sticks, wipes, hand sanitizer, hand warmers, blankets, flashlights and gloves. Pull the draw string, tie it off and send it down the line for others to place it into the back of the truck.
From 9 AM to 5 PM, the Red Bulls worked alongside various schools and organizations looking to help in any way possible. In that seven hour span, the groups accounted for nearly 20,000 individual bags, equal to 19 ½ truckloads.
"It's incredible to think how much we accomplished in one day, and yet it still doesn't feel like enough when you think of all the people without power or food or even a roof over their heads during this time," said Giunta. "But hopefully others continue to see this isn't just a passing thing - people are still reeling from the storm's impact and they could all use a little help."
To learn more and to find out how you can help, visit the following:
- Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund
