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You share a commonality with a lot of WWII veterans who were overseas and had to pay for things like socks and shaving kit that were donated back home while the Salvation Army issued those things free of charge. Many of the returning veterans had no use for the Red Cross after that experience.
Of course, the Salvation Army was mostly providing snacks and singalongs, which aren't exactly technical services, while the Red Cross was also providing medical care, incurring the expenses of specialized supplies and personnel. People always leave that detail out when relaying this anecdote, for some reason.
The Red Cross is a scam. Never donate to them. 95% of your donation goes right in their pockets. Pro Publica has been doing investigative muckraking on Red Cross for years, do a web search.
It angers me every time social media (such as Facebook) or Hollywood promotes donations to the Red Cross in times of crisis. For a group of people who love to think they're smarter than everybody else, well
I also remember when Red Cross collected a ton of blood during 9/11 which most eventually got thrown out. They wouldn't donate or ship the blood to hospitals that needed it.
For my donations it's Salvation Army all the way
??? i did a web search and found the opposite. most results said that red cross spends 89% on its programs. can you direct me to something specific. I did get some results on a scandal aftwr the Haiti earthquake (I believe that's the propublica study you mentioned) that was they spent 25% on internal administrations. still far less than the 95% you are saying
It always surprises me that people expect charitable organizations to function with no administrative overhead. Of course charities should be efficient, but it takes people to manage the logistics of these widespread aid efforts, and they need to have a skill set and connections beyond a college intern with a $20K/year stipend.
I work with people who think that everyone working for a charity should be DONATING their time. Of course these people would never do it...
I'm with your every word Oregon. I think these charities use disasters as a prop to forward their agendas.
Not saying they are not good agendas, just a disaster that allows them to ramp up the dollar input.
I have not seen any people in need of blood either.
Dear Florida Terra,
You don't live in Houston. I do. Red Cross always needs blood and I find it petty beyond belief that you, OP, and others would judge what a life sustaining charity needs when you don't even live here. BTW, more than 60 people have already died from the flood itself, much less all the injuries people have sustained from the nasty contaminated water, car and boating accidents, injuries from falling debris, etc. The governor has asked for $7.85 billion in federal aid just to start cleanup efforts. My work has two locations with over three feet of water inside. I have lived here for over 20 years and this flood is so severe one cannot imagine how bad it is unless you have seen it in person. Beaumont still has no running water from sewage contamination. Houston schools can't start until 9/11 because of feet of water in the classrooms. News broadcasts don't give you the full picture.
They're asking for blood in Florida because people there are still getting injured, ill, anemic, having surgery, losing blood in childbirth regardless of whether or not a hurricane is coming.
Anyone who has read my posts about them knows I have no love for the Red Cross disaster services.
The RC blood service does a much better job than the disaster service. They get the blood to the people who need it. If Red Cross is the only blood service in your area then I see nothing wrong with donating blood through them.
5 pages in and the Red Cross bashers should be ashamed.
Not for having their opinions but for never once backing up their claims with a link but just chucking out some anecdotal evidence.
The best offered was to "go check around for yourself" and someone did and then reported back refuting the posters claims by showing that they have an 89% payout rate and *gasp* provided sourcing.
If you're going to claim they're bloated and don't pay out much of what they get, be responsible and back it up because anecdotes and clearly false statements without support aren't sufficient in a reasonable discussion.
They are already begging for blood here in FL because of Irma. Which is a week away. What do they do with all that extra blood?
Store it until it's needed.
Donations are going to plummet for a week or more if they get hit by IRMA and there could be many injured.
I really don't get all the angst over this topic. If people don't want to donate then no one is obligating you to do so and it's not like it's a frivolous request like come on down to the 30% off pre-Hurricane sale at Bed Bath and Beyond.
They're asking for blood in Florida because people there are still getting injured, ill, anemic, having surgery, losing blood in childbirth regardless of whether or not a hurricane is coming.
Anyone who has read my posts about them knows I have no love for the Red Cross disaster services.
The RC blood service does a much better job than the disaster service. They get the blood to the people who need it. If Red Cross is the only blood service in your area then I see nothing wrong with donating blood through them.
They are fully promoting the blood drives specifically because of Irma.
I get annoyed because they make a ton of money off donated blood. It's an industry. You don;t get it for free if you end up in the hospital, but you are supposed to be guilted into donating because it's the "right" thing to do. I realize that has zero to do with Red Cross, lol, because all the blood drives do the same thing.
I served as an Emergency preparedness worker before, during and after Hurricane Sandy. I have very personal knowledge about the Red Cross and Catholic Charities. There is no debate that the ARC does a fabulous job in times of disaster and offers many informative and interesting classes during the year. CPR is one as well as first aid. There is a partnership with the government and both the Red Cross & Salvation Army, and both are the first site even for local disasters. The volunteers that make up these organizations are what grease the axle so to speak. They are the dedicated volunteers on the ground who hand out cots, pillows and blankets, man registration desks, handle the opening and closing of shelters, hand out food, soothe frazzled nerves, maintain order, set up child care areas and entertain the kids to name just a few of the many hangs they do. I can't speak highly enough about thee dedicated folks. Now the CEO, Gail McGovern, is making over $517 k, you can decide how you feel about that.
The Salvation Army mobilizes ham radio operators and their feeding canteens and field kitchens to cook hot meals for the sheltered. Both ARC and Salvation Army were among the first boots on the ground after 9/11.
Catholic Charities holds collections in their member churches and remits every penny to those who are in need of help. A recent check of the Catholic Charities USA website showed since the hurricane hit 2.8 million had already been donated and that was prior to collections in the individual dioceses.
Are there other organizations, you bet there are, but I can personally speak to these three. Regarding the blood comment, yes there are not bleeding people in Texas, however, the ARC blood drives collect blood for distribution to over 2500 hospitals and centers for transfusion. Think of all the normal blood donations, in addition to the blood drives that have been cancelled due to the flooding in the area. The blood is counted on for life saving distribution.
I will ask each of you to consider going to the NVOAD Website (National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) I am including the member organizations page but the website is enlightening for those that are not familiar. https://www.nvoad.org/voad-members/national-members/
Lastly, did you know that FEMA and these other organizations have already started putting services and people on the ground in Puerto Rico, the Islands and Florida?
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