I seem to recall a recent news story that "exposed" the finances of the Red Cross and that only a small portion of donations actually went to the needy. Most was used to support the RC itself...
Tim 1982 300TD Moby On 9/1/05, Potter, Tom E <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I am going to pee on LT Don's parade and at the same time be politically > incorrect. From my EXPERIENCE (note that I did not say hearsay evidence) > the American Red Cross will get about 10-20 percent (if that) of your > donations to anyone who needs it. I suggest that you do some research on > the ARC before donating ANYTHING to them. If you want my LONG story, > e-mail me. There are many truly charitable organizations that you can > support with some confidence that your donations are going where they > were meant. There are many overwhelmed facilities/organizations in or > near New Orleans that truly NEED your help. Adopt one of them and donate > to it. > > Sorry for the off-topic e-mail, but I got tired of everyone holding the > ARC up as some sort of beacon of hope. > > Thomas E. Potter > Telephone: (713) 215-2877 > Fax: (713) 215-2551 > Mobile: (832) 794-0536 > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of OK Don > Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 8:25 AM > To: Mercedes mailing list > Subject: Re: [MBZ] A VERY serious topic -- put away yer guns, email > clients,taxes, and bad dogs > > > Saw this response to a "what can we do" question - I don't know who > submitted it, but it makes sense. Just watch out for the scammers. > > > People want to help. That's good. The problem is they often can, but > they think they can. And, in the end, all they really do is get in the > way. > The single best thing Joe Geek can do is give cash. Not stuff, cash. > Cash is portable, fast, and useful. Everything else has problems -- > even if it is something they really and truly need, because it isn't > there, and people and resources are needed to get it there. > > The canonical example: Bottled water. Something otherwise useless that > is critical in this sort of emergency. So you give a few flats to the > ARC. Well, you bought them at retail, and now, the ARC has to put them > on a truck (which costs money) and ship them down there (which cost > money, and time.) > > Let's say you give them $20 instead. The ARC notes that they need > water. So, they call a bottler in a city close to, but not affected > by, the storm. They get wholesale or cost prices, as opposed to > retail. For the same amount of money, they get far more water, far > closer to where they need to be. In six hours, you're delivering your > flats to the local ARC office. In six hours with cash, they're handing > water to people who desperately need it. > > Finally, of course, if what they really need is food, your flats of > water aren't helpful, but your cash is. So, the lesson: > > 1) Give cash. That's the best thing you can do from your home. > > 2) Stay the hell away from New Orleans. Seriously. They're ordering > everyone out, that includes you. Do not go. > > 3) If you are trained to do rescue work, they have almost certainly > called you by now. If not, check in with your local org -- records and > such get lost, and they may have missed you. > > 4) If you really insist, go to your *local* American Red Cross office > and talk to them. If, in fact, they do need a skill you have, they'll > put you with the people you need to know, and start the wheels moving. > The single biggest thing the ARC does in disasters is routing > solutions to problems. > > 5) If you have supplies, not cash, you can talk to the local office, > but realize that the cost of shipping your supplies may make them > worse off then just buying them closer. If you have supplies *and* > shipping -- and we're talking trucks, not FedEx, -- then call the > local ARC, and talk to them, and if they need what they have, they'll > put you in touch with the people who need it, who can arrange how to > get it to them. > > In general, when they need something, they need lots of it, either in > one place or put into one place so they can easily distribute at need. > One satellite phone isn't that helpful, esp. if they have to figure > out how to make it work. A thousand phones, ready to go, however, is. > > 6) If they really need what you have to offer, and you are one of the > few who can provided it, they've probably called you by now. > > 7) If you want to help in the future, start working with rescue orgs > now. If you haven't been trained in general rescue procedures, your > not nearly as helpful. Think of it as backups -- you can't help New > Orleans now, but there will be other bad days, and if you've done the > classwork and drills, and kept in touch, then you will be one of the > people they need -- and they'll call you when they need you. It may > not be as elegant as network support -- but right now, they don't care > about TCP/IP. They care about getting people out of the floodwaters, > and plugging the holes in the levees. > > > > > > -- > OK Don, KD5NRO > Norman, OK > '87 300SDL > '81 240D > '78 450SLC > The FSM created the Diesel Benz > http://www.venganza.org/ > > _______________________________________ > For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net > > _______________________________________ > For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net >
