Fiscal Woes Endanger Glendale Vols
Known for saving lives, the Glendale Volunteer Ambulance Corps (GVAC) is looking for a financial rescue from the people it serves in order for their operation to survive, according to its leader.
In a letter sent to the Times Newsweekly on Tuesday, Feb. 19, GVAC President Ryan Gunning made an appeal for donations from local residents to keep the volunteer first responders on duty for years to come. Citing a combination of their response to Hurricane Sandy and other recent weather events in Queens, rising expenses and plummeting contributions, Gunning wrote the organization is in dire financial shape.
“The Glendale Volunteer Ambulance Corps was established in 1973, and is proud to be in its 40th year of service to the Glendale community, the surrounding communities, and this great city,” said Gunning, who also serves as chairman of the New York State Volunteer Ambulance and Rescue Association, District 4, NYC Region. “However, we may not make it past 40 years. Over the last few years, being prepared is costly.”
“Unfortunately, due to our efforts in helping these other services and communities, and in being prepared, we have depleted most of our own resources and may end up closing our doors in the very near future,” he added. “We feel that would greatly impact the quality of life in the Glendale community.”
Operating two ambulances out of its headquarters on Central Avenue, the GVAC responds to an average of 1,000 emergency calls for basic life support every year, Gunning stated. The group is also a partner with the 104th Precinct Civilian Observation Patrol and the Ridgewood Volunteer Ambulance Corps in the Board 5 Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), which was the first of its kind established and coordinated by the city’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM).
“As with many businesses and organizations, the economy has taken its toll on the GVAC,” Gunning wrote. The organization currently has an annual operating budget of over $100,000, with the bulk of expenses coming in the form of its rent and insurance payments.
Recent spikes in fuel prices and the continued need to upgrade equipment have also depleted GVAC’s bank account, the corps president wrote. One of the two GVAC ambulance is also 14 years old and has proven costly to maintain, he added.
For decades, GVAC had been able to survive and thrive relying on private donations, third-party billing from insurance companies and grants from elected officials. “However, donations are at the lowest in 38 years, mainly due to the economy and recent worldwide events,” Gunning wrote, “grants are minimal due to budget cuts and third party is barely keeping us alive, as many people lack coverage.”
Aside from the day-to-day financial challenges of running a volunteer ambulance corps, the corps president noted, GVAC has felt a particular financial pinch resulting from its response to recent weather events such as Hurricane Sandy last October, the September 2010 macroburst/tornado and the after-Christmas blizzard of 2010.
Members of GVAC were most active in the days and weeks after Hurricane Sandy struck the city and caused carnage in coastal areas. Along with assisting first responders in clearing streets of fallen trees in its own coverage area, Gunning said, GVAC went to the storm-battered Rockaways, Hamilton Beach and Howard Beach, filling in for volunteer ambulance corps and fire department units which were disabled by the superstorm.
The organization also embarked on a donation drive to resupply those volunteer first responders, soliciting donations from corporations and neighboring ambulance and fire department crews. Gunning noted that this effort helped many of the volunteer groups in Rockaway and Howard Beach get back to duty within three days after Sandy struck the region.
Members of GVAC also assisted donation efforts held by local lawmakers and organizations in its regular coverage area, shuttling thousands of donated clothes, food and other items to the disaster area.
For more information, call GVAC at 1-718-386-9651. To send a donation, write to Glendale Volunteer Ambulance corps, P.O. Box 863991, Ridgewood, NY 11385.
