For the eighth year in a row, the Yale Alumni Association of Cleveland participated in the Cleveland Red Cross' "Sound the Alarm" fire-prevention service project as part of its Yale Day of Service programming, installing smoke detectors in Cleveland and Cleveland-area homes in need of them and helping educate residents on fire safety and fire-escape planning.
This fire-prevention effort, first launched in 1992 in concert with Cleveland Fire, has helped reduce annual fire fatalities in the city of Cleveland to single digits. This year, instead of canvassing streets identified by Cleveland Fire as in need of smoke detectors, the Yale team of Betsy Sullivan '74,'76 MA, Geoff Lowney '74, '83 PhD, and honorary Yalie Greg Knapik (a longtime Red Cross disaster volunteer participating in Sound the Alarm for the first time, who proved his prowess with an electric drill) was one of 10 teams sent out Saturday, April 18, to preset appointments.
In our case, we were assigned four homes in Cleveland and Cleveland Heights with seniors in need of assistance and, as it turned out, 20 new smoke detectors, making us one of the day's most productive teams. Collectively, on a chilly, rainy morning, the ten teams of 3-4 people each installed 144 smoke detectors in 39 homes housing 76 people. A service project that makes a difference.
Yale Day of Service is the university’s annual celebration of service, with Yalies banding together each year to give back to their local communities. Participate on May 9 or any day your community can gather. Check out our project page to find an event near you.
