Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps

The Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps (BSVAC) is the first U.S. minority-run volunteer ambulance corps, founded in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York in 1988 by James Robinson. BSVAC is a New York not-for-profit organization that is exempt from federal income taxes under Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

When BSVAC first began its operations, the average response time in Bedford-Stuyvesant for city ambulances was around 30 minutes. This number is, however, misleading as it connotes an Emergency Response to every 9-1-1 call. Nevertheless, BSVAC established a record-breaking ambulance service that currently responds to over 100 emergency calls in a given week with an average response time of less than four minutes. BSVAC also established a neighborhood first aid center and with its minuscule amount of resources available.

In addition to saving lives, the organization, changes the lives of its volunteers for the better. To date, thousands of local residents have been trained as First Responders. It has also developed a remarkable Youth Corps program that provides CPR, first aid and basic emergency medical training to teens and young adults, preparing them for full-time employment in emergency medicine. A program for younger children, called the Trauma Troopers, has also been developed by BSVAC; it provides CPR and first aid training. In addition to medical training, these programs provide positive role models and social activities. To date, hundreds of young people have completed the program.

BSVAC has reached out to other minority communities, from Harlem, New Yotk to Los Angeles, California, providing emergency medical training and assistance in setting up programs.

Remarkable accomplishments are numerous, ongoing and nationally praised including: the Robin Hood Foundation Hero of the Year Award, New York City Hero Award, American Institute for Public Service Jefferson Award, Thousand Points of Light Award (awarded by President George Bush), and the Maxwell House Hero Search Award.