The Best Red Cross Club in Long Island is in Bethpage?! The Eagle’s Cry sat down with Red Cross Officers Rachel Cohen and Emily Kossman to ask them a little bit about this club.

When was this club created?

Emily: “2019.”

Why was this club created?

Rachel: “Originally, there was this student named Ace and her mom was a very active member of the Red Cross. She moved away, but they started a club with a group of friends. There were about six of them, and they started it to spread awareness.”

What are some accomplishments from this club?

Rachel: “Well, there were the awards of Best Club for two years, and we helped with the most recent animal supply drive. We’ve done several of those, and canned food drives. All of it was just giving back to the community in different ways. A lot of the money we make in our bake sales, we donate to the Red Cross, and towards activities like Halloween on the Field.”

Why should people join this club?

Emily: “There’s so many opportunities to volunteer, and there’s so many different organizations like Island Harvest that we help. There’s also activities like installing smoke alarms, and you meet a lot of people too.”

Rachel: “There’s also a lot of networking too, like I’ve gotten two business cards from a teacher and this lady from a Red Cross gala in October. It’s just great networking and also you get a lot out of it, like volunteer hours”

How does this club benefit others?

Rachel: “So for smoke alarms, the people who signed up, helped a lot of elderly. We helped larger families who are less able to do it themselves.”

Emily: “Also, people who have a hard time hearing, we installed bedshakers.”

Rachel: “We helped this one family, they had like ten kids, so we installed a lot of smoke alarms. The donations go to Long Island Harvest, and Empty Bowls. So it just helps people across Long Island and New York.”