$10,000 raised during Red Cross Disaster hot line

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April 16, 2012|by Eyewitness News | KWCH 12 Eyewitness News

(WICHITA, Kan.) — When devestation happens, Kansans are always ready to help. And that was obvious Monday when KWCH hosted a Red Cross Disaster Relief hot-line.

In three hours, Kansasns called in to donated more than $10,000. It was more than the Red Cross had expected or hoped for. Donations can still be made at www.redcross.org

The money donated will go to the Red Cross Disaster relief fund. The fund helps victims across the county in situations like Saturday's tornado outbreak.

Photos of Storm Damage

The Red Cross says financial donations are the best way to help. "While well intended, in-kind donations of clothing, food, water or other supplies are not needed. Red Cross appreciates the offers of help, but right now the best way to help disaster victims is with a financial donation," Williams said.

The Red Cross is already providing assistance to Kansas families impacted by Saturday's storms. As of Monday morning, the Red Cross provided 230 meals and 40 overnight stays to Wichita residents.

"Red Cross is adapting to the situation and working with the people to help with their immediate needs," said James Williams, Red Cross spokesperson. "We're working diligently to get people back on the road to recovery."

Red Cross Press Release below

What do contributions to American Red Cross Disaster Relief pay for?
Financial contributions to American Red Cross Disaster Relief allow us to serve victims of nearly 70,000 disasters, anywhere, anytime. Every day, the American Red Cross responds to nearly 200 disasters ranging from house fires to wildfires and small ice storms to massive hurricanes - each one devastating to the people involved.

What services does Red Cross Disaster Relief cover?
Disaster victims need the essentials right away, such as food, water, shelter, first aid and emotional support - those are just some of the things that donations to Red Cross Disaster Relief buys. But it costs more than what you might think to run a disaster operation. There's a lot of "behind the scenes" costs such as warehouses, vehicle maintenance, volunteer training and travel costs. All of those items ensure we can get help to disaster victims as quickly as possible and the donations to support Disaster Relief pays for those too.

How much does the Red Cross spend every year on the disaster relief?
Every year, the Red Cross spends an average of $362 million preparing for and responding to nearly 70,000 disasters across the county and around the world. This includes the cost for providing food, shelter, relief supplies, emotional support and health services. It also includes the cost to be ready to respond to any disaster by maintaining those things that help us get assistance to people in need.

How much of my donation goes to helping disaster victims and how much goes to overhead?
An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs like providing disaster relief. Donations are used to provide food, shelter, emotional support and other assistance, as well as the vehicles, warehouses and people that make that relief possible. We only use a small slice of every dollar to support general operations to keep the Red Cross running such as information technology, fundraising, finance, HR and communications.

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