The American Red Cross Greater New York Region will celebrate Heroes for Humanity via an interactive “virtual experience” on Thursday, April 22, 2021. The event will honor heroes and civic leaders and feature a virtual reality 360 experience highlighting the organization’s unique humanitarian mission. The evening will conclude with a special performance by Bon Jovi.

The Red Cross will present three awards this year: The National Football League will receive the Corporate Leadership Award; Gold Star Family, Michael J. Jordan, US Marine, Lynn M. Jordan, and Connor J. Jordan will receive the Excellence in Service Award; and Carolina Herrera will receive the Humanitarian Award.

“We are thrilled to come together to recognize such a committed group of honorees,” said Mary Barneby, Regional CEO, American Red Cross in Greater NY. “To our supporters who will join us to celebrate the humanitarian ideals that inspire us all, thank you! Your support enables the Red Cross to help those who need it most.”

Across the Greater NY Region of NYC, Long Island, Westchester County, Rockland County and Greenwich, Conn., more than 5000 people volunteer with the Red Cross: responding to home fires and other disasters, supporting blood collections, helping communities prepare, providing emergency assistance to military families, and much more. At times, when the need arises, Red Cross team members deploy far from home to lend a helping hand to communities coping with large scale disasters across the country and around the world.

The Heroes for Humanity event will be celebrated across the Greater New York Region by each chapter. In the Metro New York North Chapter, representing Westchester County, Rockland County and Greenwich, N.Y., the pre-show will be hosted by Suni E. Unger, publisher of SERENDIPITY and will feature an interview with Michael and Lynn Jordan, discussing their family’s service to our country. The Long Island Chapter pre-show will be hosted by Board Members Sammy Chu and Anthony Acampora and will highlight volunteers and their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

All three chapters will then come together for the main program, hosted by Ashleigh Banfield, host of Banfield on News Nation. The hour-long event will feature acceptance speeches by Mrs. Carolina Herrera, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and Michael and Lynn Jordan. Bon Jovi will close out the night with a special performance.

There is also a silent auction featuring unique experiences, fine jewelry, travel packages and more, available at www.redcross.org/heroesforhumanity. This virtual event is produced by Reimagined Experiences. Tickets for the event are available online.

The American Red Cross depends on the generous support of the American public to fulfill its critical mission. Proceeds raised during this virtual event will enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people affected by disasters like hurricanes, home fires, and countless other crises. 

Sponsors of the 2021 Heroes for Humanity Virtual Event include:

MISSION IMPACT ROOM SPONSOR: Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP

CHAPTER PRESENTING SPONSOR: New York Cancer & Blood Specialists

VISIONARY SPONSOR: McKinsey & Company

INNOVATION SPONSORS: Barclays; Bethpage Federal Credit Union; Biacomm Inc.; BNY Mellon; Citi; Deloitte; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP; Colleen and Philip Hempleman; JLL; MarshMcLennan; Mediabrands; Giovanna and Brian Miller; National Grid; OMD; Sony

COMPASSION SPONSORS: Con Edison; Jill and John Coyle; Mastercard; John B. Rhea; Shreve, Crump & Low; Verizon

CARE SPONSORS: BeyondSpring Inc. (BYSI); Entwistle & Cappucci LLP; Equitable; Pamela Farr and Buford Alexander; L&K Partners; New York American Water; Tata Consultancy Services; Webster Bank

COMMUNITY IMPACT SPONSORS: Mary and Kirk Barneby; Leah and Jason Butler;

Carlson & Carlson; Catholic Health; Cross Country Healthcare; Steven and Roberta Denning; Edgewise Energy; Foundation Medicine, Inc.; Horizon Media; iHeartMedia; Nancy and Rex Knight; MediaLink; Marsha & Ken Mifflin; Nassau Financial Federal Credit Union; New York Community Bank Foundation; The Onward and Upward Charitable Foundation; Pray Body Shop; Silverman Acampora LLP; Julia and Ulrik Trampe; Turner Construction Company; Cynthia and Simon Wasserberger; Elisa and Tom Wilson; Yale New Haven Health Greenwich Hospital

BENEFACTORS: Brescome Barton Inc./Chrissy von Oiste; The Crabtree Family; Joan Shapiro Green and Frank Green; Lesley and John Osborn; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals; Unger Family Fund

PATRONS: Elizabeth and David Boutry; Lisa and Don Callahan; Lisa and Wayne Cooper; Danielle and Andrew Earls; Joel Greenberg; Nichols MD; Thompson Family; Nikol and Jeff Thompson; UPS Foundation; Heather and Eric Wise

The American Red Cross also thanks these program members for their generous contributions.

Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP): Citi; IBM; Pepsico

Red Cross Disaster Responder Program: American Express; Assurant; Barclays; Equitable; Mastercard; Tata Consultancy Services

The current members of the Red Cross Ready 365 Program:

Platinum Plus: BNY Mellon; CIT; Morgan Stanley; Veronica Beard

Platinum: Marsh McLennan       

Gold: Estee Lauder; Lemonade Insurance; QBE Foundation; Sony; Swiss Re; Voya Financial

Silver: AIG; Bilquis Edhi Relief Foundation; Blackstone Group, LP; Bloomberg; Con Edison; TIAA-Cref; UBS

Bronze: Guardian Life Insurance; L'Oreal USA; LVMH, Inc.; Medidata Solutions; New York Life Foundation; NIC Holding Corp.