(WENY) -- On Friday, April 19th, the American Red Cross of the Southern Tier hosted 24 nominees, each recognized for saving one or multiple lives. These award recipients saved lives, including those of children, animals, and fellow community members, among others.

Dakota Donohue shared his story about a time he had to take action. Donohue saved his family from their burning home, an act for which the Red Cross is recognizing him. "My home is out in Dansville, and we live in the country," says award recipient Dakota Donohue. "I was in my room playing my game when the fire started. I got myself out, called who I needed to, and then I pulled my nana and my little brother out of the window." Donohue describes the moment after making the 9-1-1 call as fearful, but he was able to get his nana and brother safely out of their home.
 
 

 

Clint Densmore, the head janitor at Union High School, was also recognized for saving a student's life during an ordinary school day's lunch hour. "Well, on November 19th at about 1:10 in the afternoon, a kid was having lunch and started choking. He ran to one of our lunch monitors and said he was choking, and I just stepped in and did the Heimlich," says Densmore. He added, "The moment was like, 'I better do something quick, or it's not going to be pleasant.' I don't know how to explain it. You just react in the moment."
 
Zachariah Riley, the Executive Director of the American Red Cross in the Southern Tier, says the program has been ongoing for 15 years in Corning. In 2024, Riley is excited to have nominees from 12 counties like Steuben  Schuyler, Chemung, Tompkins, Tioga, Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Oswego, Sullivan County, and Susquehanna County, PA.
 
"We have our regular contacts we send it out to, so news outlets, fire stations, police departments, and many other groups, like schools, see the categories, and the community nominates these individuals. It's every individual person recognizing that a life was saved, and they submit those nominations. We actually get a lot of nominations too, from former heroes," says Riley.
 

Friday night was not the only celebration of local heroes. On May 15th, a breakfast with around 400 nominees will take place to recognize their life-saving actions. "They could be small, they could be tall, they could even be animals sometimes. Some amazing stories come from these events," explained Riley.