Legendary Basketball Heroes Provide Help and Hope in the Face of Disasters

When you’re 6’ 8” tall, you don’t need a ladder to install a smoke alarm.

Unless your ceilings are REALLY high.

Harlem Globetrotters forward Zeus McClurkin installs a smoke alarm in a home on Lawnview Avenue in Cleveland, as Regional CEO Mike Parks and Disaster Program Specialist Emily Probst observe.  Photo credit: Jim McIntyre/American Red Cross

Zeus McClurkin, a forward for the Harlem Globetrotters,  accompanied Regional CEO Mike Parks and other Red Cross workers and firefighters from the Cleveland Fire Department on Monday, December 12 to install smoke alarms in homes on Lawnview Avenue.

Residents who live in 25 homes in Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood are now safer, after Zeus and the rest of the volunteers installed 75 smoke alarms.

“Having working smoke alarms cuts the risk of injury or death in a home fire in half,” said the eight-year veteran of the team.  “I’m happy to help the Red Cross with this lifesaving mission.”

Zeus McClurkin installs a smoke alarm in the home of Cleveland resident Mikael Raheem

Cleveland resident Mikael Raheem receives fire safety information from Disaster Program Specialist Emily Probst, as CEO Mike Parks and Zeus McClurkin observe

Disaster Program Specialist Emily Probst shares fire safety information with Cleveland resident Teressa Jackson, as Zeus McClurkin installs a smoke alarm

Cleveland firefighter Marco Lavender, Cleveland City Councilman T. J. Dow, Cleveland Fire Lt. Daphne Tyus, Regional Red Cross CEO Mike Parks, Cleveland resident Mikael Raheem, and Zeus McClurkin

Since 2014, the Red Cross has installed more than 500,000 smoke alarms nationwide. Nearly 13,000 smoke alarms were installed in Northeast Ohio last year. Together with the Harlem Globetrotters,  local fire departments and other community partners, our goal is to install our one millionth smoke alarm by October 2017 to help Americans stay safer from home fires.

Every eight minutes, the American Red Cross responds to a disaster, most of which are home fires, which claim more lives annually than all major disasters combined. The Red Cross and the Harlem Globetrotters have teamed up through The Great Assist initiative to help communities across America to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters big and small. Join with us as we raise urgently needed funds to support families during times of crisis throughout the year. Your donation can bring help and hope to those who need it most. Text ASSIST to 90999 to make a $10 donation now that will truly make a difference.

The Globetrotters played 2 games at Quicken Loans Arena on December 27^th.

In addition, the team played at the Canton Civic Center  on January 27, and at the Covelli Center in Youngstown on January 28.