Red Cross volunteers and leadership celebrate a ribbon cutting at Fort Hamilton in March 2025 with guests and visitors. (U.S. Army photo by Mark Getman/Fort Hamilton Garrison Public Affairs)
[MARCH 18, 2025 — NEW YORK CITY] The American Red Cross celebrated a ribbon cutting at its new office located on Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York. Fort Hamilton is home to one of the largest of the 68 Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) in the country, where applicants from New York and New Jersey come to enlist in the military. The Red Cross is currently on more than 390 military installations and deployment sites worldwide, a number which has grown with the opening of the office on Fort Hamilton.
“What started as a casual conversation about the benefits of being on this installation on a permanent basis, grew into what we’re celebrating today,” said Lallita Maharaj, Director of Service to the Armed Forces for the American Red Cross in Greater New York. “The principles that Clara Barton held when she started the Red Cross about supporting the military still stand true today.”
“As a Gold Star father and a marine, I’ve had an opportunity to experience firsthand how the Red Cross supports our military,” said Dr. Michael J. Jordan, Vice President for Service to the Armed Forces & International Services for the American Red Cross. “I remember thinking, flying home, if I get a chance to give back it would be to an organization like the Red Cross.”
The ribbon-cutting celebration was attended by: Colonel Melissa Cantwell, Garrison Commander at Fort Hamilton; Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Barack, Commander of the New York MEPS; a representative from Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis; a representative from Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny; dozens of Red Cross leaders and volunteers; and other guests from Fort Hamilton.
ABOUT RED CROSS SERVICE TO THE ARMED FORCES
The Red Cross helps members of the military, veterans, their families and caregivers cope with the challenges of service. Each year, the Red Cross assists more than 240,000 military and veteran families by helping communicate with loved ones and facilitating their return home through the Hero Care Network, offering a variety of free resiliency workshops, providing comfort at veteran hospitals and military treatment facilities, providing peer support for caregivers, and through the ‘Get To Know Us Before You Need Us’ program for enlistees and their families at the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS).
ABOUT THE HERO CARE NETWORK
Through the Hero Care Network, the Red Cross connects service members, veterans and their families to free and confidential assistance any day, anytime. This includes emergency communication messages, financial assistance, critical community services and more.
An emergency communication message is how military families communicate with their loved ones during times of emergency. If an emergency requires leave for a service member the Red Cross will verify the emergency to the appropriate military commander to help facilitate their return home for significant life events such as the birth of a child.
To access these services through the Hero Care Network, visit redcross.org/saf, download the Hero Care app by texting GETHEROCARE to 90999, or call a Hero Care specialist at 877-272-7337.
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All photos and videos are courtesy of the American Red Cross.
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