Monday, June 4, 2007

Red Cross

I sent a check for $100 to the Red Cross after Hurricane Katrina. It felt good to contribute a little bit to help the thousands of people who were undergoing such a terrible tragedy.

Now I’ve learned that my $100 did not necessarily go to help any particular Katrina victims but that all donations go into the general fund that keeps the Red Cross functioning. I know it’s rather picayune to complain but I gave that $100 expressly for Katrina victims, not for the general fund.

I’ve also read of several little turf wars between the Red Cross and local organizations during other tragedies that makes me think they are not as big-hearted as they would like us to think.

And I’ve yet to hear of the Red Cross doing anything for the Israeli hostages kidnapped by the Hizballah and Palestinian extremists last year. Where’s the outcry? Where’s the media coverage like that given to Guantanamo Bay?

No more contributions to the Red Cross for me....

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Kollarrow,
I'm Wendy from the American Red Cross (HarmanW@usa.redcross.org). I ran across your entry here last week so I asked our fundraising department exactly how we honor donor intent. Here's the answer:

The American Red Cross always honors donor intent. If you designated your gift to Katrina, your gift went to provide food, shelter, counseling and other assistance to those in need. You can check your acknowledgement letter to make sure that is where your gift went. To see specific examples of how the Red Cross is helping Katrina victims check out our Katrina stewardship report at www.redcross.org

Kollarrow said...

I was simply relying on my memory of reports I read during the months immediately after Katrina.

I specifically remember reading that all donations went into the general operating fund. And other reports stated that tempers flared among relief workers when other relief groups were supposedly invading their turf and presumably getting more publicity for their acts of kindness.

Whether these reports were true or not, I just don't know. But I do have a rather negative outlook on the IRC now. Sorry.

But thanks for your visit and concern.