Two Newtown Residents Among Honorees—

Red Cross To Honor Community

Heroes; Local Teachers Receiving Award

DANBURY — The American Red Cross of Western Connecticut will be honoring and celebrating six local heroes whose extraordinary acts of courage and kindness have made a difference in the community at the Annual Red Cross Breakfast, to be held Friday, March 18, at 7:30 am, at The Amber Room Colonnade.

The fundraising event will feature a Heroes Recognition Celebration, which allows the Red Cross the opportunity to recognize individuals for their extraordinary talent in the service of others. Awards will be given in three categories: Emergency Response, Community Impact, and Animal Rescue.  

Two local teachers have been named Red Cross Heroes. Bonnie Barago of Newtown, a teacher at Faith Academy in Danbury, will be presented the Emergency Response Award. Ms Barago was nominated for administering the life-saving techniques she used to dislodge an obstruction from the throat of a seventh grade student who was choking.

In the Community Impact category, Christine Miller of Sandy Hook will be presented a Heroes Award for her dedication and commitment to developing projects and programs to involve middle school students in making a difference in their communities.

Also being honored on March 18 will be Dispatcher Valerie Zebrowski and Officer Scott Brennan of the Redding Police Department, who will be presented the Lifesaving Award for Professional Responder; Guido Tino of Sherman will also receive a Community Impact Award; and Marcia Libby will be accepting the Animal Rescue Award on behalf of Ridgefield Operation for Animal Rescue (ROAR). 

The concept for celebrating the acts of local heroes has grown out of a desire to develop an event that is closely related to the mission of the Red Cross: teaching people to save lives. The Red Cross provides relief to victims of disasters and helps people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. This is done through the simple, yet powerful process, of one person putting their needs aside to help another.

Within the 17-town area the Western Connecticut Chapter serves, over 1,500 volunteers do this each day. The Red Cross feels there is no better way to celebrate this spirit of humanitarianism than by honoring those individuals who have shown courage, kindness, and unselfish character by their acts of heroism in our community.

The public is welcome to attend the 15th Annual Breakfast in support of the vital work of their local Red Cross.

Tickets are $25 per person. Patrons can also purchase a full table, become a Red Cross Host and invite nine guests to join them for breakfast.

To participate in this year’s celebration of community heroes in honor of March as Red Cross Month, call the American Red Cross of Western Connecticut at 792-8200.