Gabrielle Jonny’s Impact on the Staten Island Community

By: Perla Gonzalez

The American Red Cross mission is to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers. Credit: http://www.bothell-reporter.com

Gabrielle Jonny transferred from Hunter College to CSI in the fall of 2018, with a set goal in mind: to start a brand new club on campus.

“I wanted to start a club that has never been chartered at CSI,” said Jonny. “I’ve always had the skills, aspirations, and personality to become the leader of something that held much importance to me.”

Within the first month of being a student at CSI, Jonny was able to charter The American Red Cross Club, and has been the president ever since.

She wanted to make an impact on the local Staten Island community and wanted to teach students the importance of volunteering. To her, volunteering is very important and it has molded her into a selfless and passionate person. 

She has volunteered at The American Red Cross for over 3 years and takes much pride in it.By being the President of the Red Cross Club, Jonny gets in many hours of volunteer work, which she needs in order to get into med-school, another reason why she charted the club.

 When Jonny created the club, she did it with not only fulfilling her required volunteer hours but with other hopeful medical students in mind as well.

“I knew I had to obtain volunteer hours for medical school, but I didn’t know where to start,” said Jonny. “I never want another Pre-Health student to feel like they have no guidance or support on their journey to become a health professional in regards to volunteering.”

As president, there is a lot of behind the scenes work that needs to be taken care of in order to run a successful club. So far this semester, she has organized fifteen volunteer based events and three meetings. 

Along with organizing and planning the meeting, Jonny has to keep track of her member’s volunteer hours, write recommendation letters and complete a lot of paperwork that is needed in order for her to hold these events.

Since her club is affiliated with The Red Cross, she also has to fulfill annual goals from both CSI and the Red Cross. She constantly has to be in touch with the club coordinator on campus and the regional youth manager at the Red Cross.

 As busy as it is, Jonny finds that it is all worth it and that she loves to be the president of the club she created.

“As a club member, I am constantly left inspired by Gabrielle’s ability to actualize her vision,” said Kalindi Mishra. “She decided on an endeavor, pursued it until fruition and now the outcome is something which benefits others and will collectively do so for a long time.”

One event Jonny was proud of creating was a CPR that was very successful because all of her club members became CPR certified. The club also held a peanut butter and jelly sandwich-making event in association with Project Hospitality, and in forty minutes the club made 200 sandwiches for the homeless, another event she was proud of. 

After only being an official club for an academic year, Jonny was awarded Club President of the Year in the spring of 2019 and received a thousand dollar scholarship. She hopes that the club can become Club of the Year next year.

When she volunteered at an event, she was told that there is a lack of young volunteers and she hopes that will change.

“By giving a few hours of your day to help others it will make you a well rounded person,” said Jonny. “Just a few hours a week and donating your time is effortless.”

The upcoming American Red Cross Club events, such as the Autism Research Fundraiser and Cure Alzhiemer’s Fundraiser can be found on CSI Connect.