Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
sorry, but charitable organizations should not have "trade secrets". What is up with that? They prey upon people's sympathy in the aftermath of large scale disasters and garner lots of donations. Then the victims of the disaster see only a miniscule (if any) amount of that money? Something is wrong with that picture, and it really makes me wonder what exactly their trade secret is, and why it can't be revealed. They obviously feel it will hurt them in some way.
My husband retired from Emergency Management. I just asked him if he ever had any complaints about the Red Cross and the only thing that bothered him, he said, was that the Red Cross "acts like they are doing everything and don't give credit to all the groups that are there."
I remember my father telling me a story about the Red Cross in the Pacific Theater of WWI. He said they came in from combat and the Red Cross was making sandwiches. When they tried to take some they were told that the sandwiches were for the prisoners of war and that they couldn't have any.
That forever turned him against the Red Cross. He'd say, "If you want to support a good organization give your money to the Salvation Army, not the Red Cross."
I can only speak from personal experience on one disaster, an F5. I was volunteering as a member of the community to help sort the personal donations of clothing, household goods, etc. - literally an entire school gymnasium full, to the roof. Two organizations were in the community with sandwiches - the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army was giving them away. The Red Cross was selling them. After that, and doing some research, I don't donate to the Red Cross any more.
In the Army, if the Red Cross pays for your ticket, Army Emergency Relief (AER) would typically pay back the Red Cross. AER then charges the soldier if he/she is above a certain rank. There may be some Red Cross grants, but my understanding is that Red Cross is involved in certifying there is an emergency and then providing the immediate funds which are then reimbursed by AER. I think the other services operate similarly.
Red Cross is also reimbursed for certain disaster relief efforts through FEMA as well. GAO document on Reimbursement to American Red Cross for Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne:
In the Army, if the Red Cross pays for your ticket, Army Emergency Relief (AER) would typically pay back the Red Cross. AER then charges the soldier if he/she is above a certain rank. There may be some Red Cross grants, but my understanding is that Red Cross is involved in certifying there is an emergency and then providing the immediate funds which are then reimbursed by AER. I think the other services operate similarly.
Red Cross is also reimbursed for certain disaster relief efforts through FEMA as well. GAO document on Reimbursement to American Red Cross for Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne:
but none of them had seen any Red Cross volunteers helping them out. Eventually, the Red Cross was there handing out sandwiches wrapped in plastic wrap, but by then the Rainbow people had been dishing out homemade soup and chili for nearly a week.
As a former American Red Cross volunteer, I can assure you there were people helping. We are always the first to show up, besides local law enforcement and local emergency units such as the Fire Department. We don't have to wait for it to be declared a disaster for us to be deployed. I was part of the disaster team and we mobilized anytime there was a storm, airplane crash, fire, car accident involving a house or building, etc. If it involves the lives of people, we show up with water, food, blankets, care kits, and in some cases we have a social worker that can give housing such as hotels to displaced residents.
Just because we might not have had our American Red Cross t-shirt on at the time doesn't mean we weren't there. We don't make it our position to jump around saying "Hey I'm helping these poor folks." We get in there and get the job done, and for free I might add.
If you feel the need to bash a "charitable" organization, why not start with the Susan G Komen Foundation?
By the way, don't donate if all you're going to do is whine about it. We are there. Whether you know or care, I know it because I was one of them. I couldn't care less how the money got there TO GET ME THE SUPPLIES I NEEDED, all I know is we help a lot of folks and I am thankful that THEY ARE THANKFUL.
I don't know, all I know is they are usually the first ones on the scene for disasters big and small. While we were evacuating for Sandy, Red Cross volunteers were driving into the danger, to man shelters for people who couldn't evacuate. They were there to help find housing for people the next day too, and 3 weeks later trying to find generators for people.
I also had a co-worker whose home burned down in the night, and the Red Cross people were there while firemen were still on the scene, finding a hotel room for the family, then the next day a rental, clothes, food, etc.
They are also responsible for just about every pint of blood that someone gets in this country, and teach CPR and lifesaving classes to millions of people every day, saving who knows how many lives. I don't know if their practices are better or worse than any other very large organization, but I think they do a great job overall and have no idea who would replace them if they were no longer around.
On behalf of the Northeast Florida Chapter of the American Red Cross, thank you.
In the Army, if the Red Cross pays for your ticket, Army Emergency Relief (AER) would typically pay back the Red Cross. AER then charges the soldier if he/she is above a certain rank. There may be some Red Cross grants, but my understanding is that Red Cross is involved in certifying there is an emergency and then providing the immediate funds which are then reimbursed by AER. I think the other services operate similarly.
Red Cross is also reimbursed for certain disaster relief efforts through FEMA as well. GAO document on Reimbursement to American Red Cross for Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne:
That alone, even if the Red Cross is reimbursed or not is a god send to a service person trying to get home in a family emergency..just someone to cut through all the red tape.
For my friend the call was made early Monday morning and she was flown from Hawaii to NJ the next day.
Just cutting through that red tape and getting a flight was most appreciated
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
