Private donations top $700 million, rivaling post-Sept. 11...

[Trojan]

Charities Urge Donors to Keep on Giving

By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer

NEW YORK - Even with Congress earmarking billions of federal dollars for Hurricane Katrina relief, private charities are urging donors to keep on giving, contending their field operations remain crucial in meeting emergency needs and ensuring long-term aid to the worst-off victims.

Less than two weeks after the storm hit the Gulf Coast, private gifts have soared to nearly $700 million, a pace exceeding the response to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The
American Red Cross alone had received $503 million in gifts and pledges as of Friday, nearly equaling the $534 million collected for its Liberty Fund over two months following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Red Cross spokeswoman Sheila Graham said the organization hopes the gifts will keep pouring in; it expects to need more than $1 billion to provide emergency relief over the coming weeks for thousands of evacuees who have scattered among 675 of its shelters in 23 states.

Though Congress, after swift appropriations votes Thursday, has now allocated $62 billion for relief efforts, private charities say that money won't be deployed quickly enough to meet current emergency needs and may not meet all long-term needs.

"That money has been approved, but we're spending money right now," said Ross Fraser of America's Second Harvest, which has raised nearly $12 million and delivered more than 16 million pounds of food according to its Web site.

"We've never seen anything of this magnitude; all help from all sectors is going to be needed," said Shelley Borysiewicz of Catholic Charities USA, which has raised $7 million. "We don't want people to lose sight of the fact that this is going to take years of recovery, and we're going to be there to help the people who fall through the cracks."

In addition to the Red Cross, major recipients of donations include the Salvation Army, which has received $65 million, and the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund set up by former presidents Bush and Clinton, which has collected more than $80 million. Dozens of other groups also are raising funds, including religious organizations of virtually every faith, special-interest groups, and loose alliances of celebrities who are staging concerts and other events.

Many corporations have pitched in with large gifts, including $17 million from Wal-Mart. The Lilly Endowment, in Indianapolis, divided a $20 million gift evenly between the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

Maj. Dalton Cunningham, head of Salvation Army for Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, said the charity sees no quick drop-off in demand for its emergency services, which includes feeding thousands of evacuees a day in the three states.

Regarding the swelling totals of federal and private aid, he said, "None of it is going to be enough to replace all that these people lost."

Some of the services planned by charities will fill niches that the government doesn't plan to address. For example, Church World Service — a relief agency operated jointly by 36 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican denominations — is raising funds to provide spiritual and emotional care for local clergy and others who have been ministering to victims.

Rick Augsburger, deputy director of Church World Service, said his agency and many others are concerned by the huge share of private relief funds — roughly 70 percent — going to the American Red Cross.

"The Red Cross is good on immediate needs, but they're not an organization that focuses on long-term reconstruction, and long-term needs of the most vulnerable," Augsburger said.

"There is a tremendous focus on the initial crisis phase of any emergency," he added. "Six months from now, the focus will be on something else, even though the long-term needs from Katrina will continue. We're looking at this in terms of years, and that's a difficult story for us to tell."

Graham, the Red Cross spokeswoman, said there was no need for any competitive rivalry among relief groups.

"There are opportunities for everyone to help in a situation like this," she said. "There's plenty for everyone to do."

America's Second Harvest says it is gratefully accepting record donations of food from major food companies, but is not seeking food from individual donors. Most of the other charities are urging donors to give cash, not goods, on the premise that money can be used most effectively to meet specific needs of specific evacuees.

"Some of our agencies are being overloaded with more clothes than they could possibly use," said Borysiewicz of Catholic Charities. "People want to make a difference, and they feel giving money is not enough — but money is the most flexible."

___

On the Net:

To find national charitable and religious organizations accepting donations for victims of Hurricane Katrina, check these Web Sites:

National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster: http://www.nvoad.org/

InterAction, a coalition of relief agencies: http://www.interaction.org

FEMA Charity tips: http://www.fema.gov/rrr/help2.shtm

[atholon]

That's good to hear I hope the RC doesn't pull the same bull that they did with Sept 11th funds.

[Hellfighter]

will it should be a lot bigger reason it a bigger area and more people got wipe out do to the storm.

unlike the 9/11 it was mostly a small are that the terrorist targeted. only thing is 9/11 was a shamefull act on the terrorist kill people who did no then at all to them or know of them at all. sad may god watch over them all.

[BADDOG]

It's good to know folks are being so generous!!!!

Warm Regards