I have seen a lot of Red Cross bashing here the last few days, and as a volunteer for the Red Cross, I feel it is time for some new info for you all.
First of all, the Red Cross is made up of many many many small chapters around the country. These are chapters that organize the local volunteers, provide training to volunteers and the general public, (first aid and cpr training, babysitting training for teens, life saving for swimmers etc) and provide support for local disasters. The one I volunteer with is run by 3 people in the office and about 25 or 30 volunteers. In a large disaster we might have 100 volunteers.
The stated mission of the Red Cross, in addition to the public training, is to provide food, shelter and clothing to anyone involved in a disaster, and to provide relief in the form of water and snacks to first responders. This means we help *anyone*! There is no means testing, no background checks, no followup on who or what you are, no *loans* to pay back. We show up at a disaster, see what you need, and give it to you. Now! I had a house fire where the man sat in the car, in his bathrobe, and told me he had a million bucks worth of his wife’s jewelry burn up in that fire. But it was a Sunday morning, and he had no checks, no credit cards, no ID, not even any clothes to wear, other than what he had on. This man needed housing and clothing and food for he and his family of 6 for a few days until he could re-establish his life.
The very same criteria was used in an apartment fire, where we had multiple families who don’t have a million bucks worth of jewelry. They got food, clothing and shelter for a few days as well.
Disasters come in many shapes and sizes. We have house fires, floods, and in the last several years we have had several massive tornadoes that made hundreds of homes uninhabitable. The Red Cross established shelters for these people and handled a lot of the relief supplies that were donated to the victims. We assisted with long term housing for some, and we spent days driving through the area looking for victims or helpers, and we passed out food, cleaning supplies, gloves and the like. It was a massive amount of work, and many of us worked long hours for many days.
In addition, we also established shelters for the victims of Katrina and Gustaf. The shelter for the Katrina victims was open for months.
Now, when you see a statement about the Red Cross “skimming” money, keep in mind that we small counties rely on the National Chapter to help us with our budgets. On normal years our budget is usually adequate. However, when we have large disasters, or open shelters for national disasters, we need help!
Also, the national chapter organizes volunteers to travel to massive disasters.... such as the earthquake. They need to move the volunteers to the location, feed and house the volunteers, and also provide the relief supplies needed at the area of the disaster. That is not cheap! Did you know that last year the Red Cross had volunteers helping with the floods that were happening in the midwest? That was a weeks and weeks long project!
The other thing I like about the Red Cross is that it treats its clients like adults. They have a pre-determined amount of money we can give to a client to cover their food.... but, if you think the best thing you can do to help your 5 year old get over losing her home is to buy her a teddy bear, then go for it. We give you a debit card with a certain amount of money on it, and you may use it as you will. The only restrictions are that you may not buy tobacco, alcohol or firearms. That is how you heard of Katrina victims buying jewelry and such. If that keeps them warm during the next month, OK then. Personally, I think I would eat with it, or buy myself a winter coat.
thx Gram...