To everyone who is considering NOT donating to the Red Cross.

[Maddy McCall]

And to everyone who wishes that they didn't donate, just because of one Raw Story news item in LBN:

I was in the path of Katrina. I just got my power back on. Still no water. Everything in my refrigerator is spoiled, gone. Grocery stores are still slow on getting freezer goods and meats. I don't have much left from my pre-Katrina grocery foray.

The Red Cross has fed my family--my EXTENDED family--for the past two weeks. The Red Cross van pulled into my small town, which was demolished by Katrina--just the kind of community that you haven't heard about because it's not New Orleans, and it's not on the Gulf--the day after the storm, and it has been here ever since.

While the Salvation Army had been here too, all they served was bologna sandwiches and potato chips. The Salvation Army van would arrive, stay an hour or two, and then pull up and leave The Red Cross has been here from breakfast until supper each day, handing out hundreds if not thousands of hot meals--jambalaya, beef stew, and such--every day to people in my hometown...and if they are in my hometown, I know that they are also in other small communities along Katrina's inland path.

I read a post in the LBN thread--someone regretted the $200 he had donated to Red Cross. If there are others of you regretting your donation, may I please say this to you?

Please don't regret your donation. You helped get hot food, cold water, and much needed ice to people in my community--young and old, black and white, poor and not-so-poor. YOU FED ME, and the MM extended family. The highlight of MMjr's day during this entire terrible event was visiting the Red Cross van each day to see what they were serving, to visit with the Red Cross workers. We ALL appreciate your donation; without you, we would have had nothing to eat, no ice to keep our foods, no water to drink. From every member of my family, I issue to you a hearty, most sincere THANK YOU.

You can believe what you read in LBN, or you can talk to the victims in small, devastated communities and towns across Mississippi. If you are regretting your decision to donate to Red Cross, or if you are now withholding your donation JUST because of ONE ARTICLE on a website, let this living, breathing person who has seen the good that this organization does say to you: PLEASE DONATE TO THE RED CROSS. I've seen them in action. I met their staffers--all very nice, very concerned, very eager to help.

Those of you at DU who have asked me what you can do to help my family, please donate to the Red Cross or other organizations that help disaster victims. I wish I had thought to take photos of the thankful people leaving the Red Cross van with six or eight plates stacked in their arms, headed back to feed their families. Then you could see and know what I know. The Red Cross has been very helpful to us in this terrible time.

(I'll respond to any posts in this thread later. We just got power back on at my house and I'm headed outside to assist my father in cutting one of the three trees off of my house. Yeah, insurance would cover it, but the deductible is $1500, and I don't have that right now. Besides, the physical labor is a good antidote for depression and stress.)

[crispini]

1. Recommended

((( BIG HUG ))) to Maddy McCall!!!!!

[villager]

2. Glad you're okay, Maddy....

...and not regretting my donation!

[ET Awful]

3. Thank you Maddy.

And if you're ever up Massachusetts way, give me a holler and I'll feed you even better! :hug:

I'm happy that the RC is in there helping you all out.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Coastie for Truth]

18. PM Me

I will get you a refund

BTW - when I go on Disaster Assistance (newly homeless as a result of fire, flood, etc.) when we give out the debit cards we tell the "clients" that

THIS IS A GIFT FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, INDIVIDUALLY. IT IS NOT FROM THE GOVERNMENT.

YOU HAVE NO DUTY OR OBLIGATION TO REPAY IT.

"Coastie"

Lieutenant, United States Coast Guard (Port of New Orleans, LA) (Honorable Discharge)
Red Cross Shelter Manager/Red Cross Disaster Assistance Team Captain

[knowbody0]

5. i vision you with a chain saw and smile, maddy

i donated straight away to the Red Cross. my only complaint with them is their CEO gets 650,000 per year.
hope to hear more from you soon. my prayers are with you and yours
peace and love

[charlyvi]

6. I donated to the RC twice Maddy.

My mom had a problem with them, but the way I look at it, every time I see a clip of the many disasters the world over, the Red Cross van is always there and the RC volunteers are working their asses off. Food, water, compassionate faces. I don't see any other aid as frequently, so they're aces in my book.

Keep yourself and your family well--there's a whole nation concerned for you!

:grouphug:

[Rowdyboy]

7. That makes me feel much better about the Red Cross

A young friend of mine was a volunteer at the Jackson Coliseum from day 1 and he said the organization was very disorganized and could have done a much better job. His comments on FEMA were much stronger. He had nothing good to say about their "efforts".

Glad to know that in the really hard hit areas, they were both competent and vital. They'll get my money.

[faithnotgreed]

8. so glad you have received such help - is it possible

that theres different information/control regarding new orleans and environs
because i havent been hearing such uplifting red cross stories from that area

thank you for sharing your experience with us
its important to know the whole truth no matter the subject

food not bombs is working hard in no from what we hear

[spuddonna]

9. Thank you for the info!

I did donate to the Red Cross, but after reading some posts here, I was really worried that the money would not get to the people that needed it... I'm glad to hear your story! :)

Be careful with the tree removal, and stay safe... My heart goes out to you and your family! :pals:

[CC]

10. First , good to know you

and you family are ok. Second, great letter and it is good to hear the Red Cross is doing what it says it is. I am glad they are there for you.

Also from my brother's experience with Charlie and the rest of the hurricanes in Florida. Somehow document the work you are doing on your own. He also cut trees off his house, though his roof was gone before the trees landed on the house. His insurance company took the fair market value of his labor and applied it toward his deductible. They actually ended up paying him the extra over the deductible for his labor. It is worth a try since any work you do is money they saved.

[Coastie for Truth]

11. I am a Mod on another progressive forum

so I see the "Alerts" on that forum (we try to run a mature, adult - in the age not explicit content sense -- forum) -- and I have read most of the anti-ARC appends on the several flame threads from earlier in the week.

I have communicated my feelings to "Skinner" - and I do not think those two threads were DU's finest hour -- or that some of the extreme and bellicose and less reasonable appenders represented the best of the Progressive Movement in the body politic.

I contribute time and money -- I am a shelter manager and a disaster assistance team captain.

[DrDan]

12. I'm glad you posted your thoughts here

We already donated to the ARC, but I have been second-guessing myself.

I feel better now - this was the right thing to do.

Good luck to you. We went through several last year (Volusia County FL) and, although nowhere nearly as deadly, we can relate with what you are going through.

The ice, water, etc were God-sends.

Best of luck!

[nonconformist]

13. Thanks, I'm thrilled to know my donation is being used wisely. nt

[MissB]

14. .

:hug:

[peacefreak]

15. Maddy, you have put a face to this disaster.

We have worried about you & your family. Thank you for reminding us about what is important. Hang in there. Much love from your family here.

[acmejack]

16. We're all thankful you & yours are safe!

How badly is your home damaged? please let us know if you need anything (aside from the winning powerball numbers).

I do appreciate your post though, I just hate thinking I was chumped.

[LittleClarkie]

17. Recommended. When I see talk of not supporting Red Cross

and other talk that people should be afraid to evacuate and other such things that have been posted since Katrina, I feared that we were being counterproductive instead of helping.

I don't know what beef folks have about some things the Red Cross may have screwed up in the past. But they do good work, and most of the money DOES go to those who need it.

Recommending because people need firsthand knowledge like this. Thanks Maddy.

[Horse with no Name]

19. Glad you are doing well Maddy

I believe in the work that the Red Cross does.
However, there is a lot of "resistance" here to it.
There are bad apples in every organization, regardless of what it is.
I'm glad they are assisting you.
It's nice to hear someone else defend them for a change.:)
Hang in there. Sending prayers your way.

[Booster]

20. I did donate to the Red Cross, but regretted it because I read

they weren't getting to the people. Thanks for letting me and others know their donation did help; makes me feel a whole lot better and I will donate to them again. Thanks for posting.

[dhinojosa]

21. Nice to hear because I donated quite a bit and I was worried.

This story makes me feel better that I helped people. I also donated to the Human Society to help the animals of NOLA too, and I have heard some positive stories about that too.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

22. Thank you for giving a human voice to the Red Cross and the good they've

... done.

My money went to Habitat for Humanity, but my time (volunteer work) went to the ARC. It's just how I decided to divide things up since I can't go and help rebuild there.

Take care Maddy, I'm glad that the ARC was there to help you and yours. :hug:

[applegrove]

23. Red Cross is important - in times of war & in times of disaster. Don't

let the Red Cross be another intended casualty of Bush WH diminishment.

[TwilightZone]

24. So glad that you're ok. Hang in there.

Some of the anti-RC stuff on DU the past couple of days has been truly appalling, and it's nice to hear about what is really going on.

Thanks so much for this post. It puts a personal perspective on the situation that many think they understand, but really don't.

Take care.

[msgadget]

25. Oh Maddy,

thank you. In this nation EVERYTHING is politicized and parced but you pegged it: you needed help and they gave it to. 'Nuf said. Be safe and well, m'dear.

:hug:

[Blue_In_AK]

26. Thank you...

I feel so much better reading that. My family, between us, made some fairly significant contributions to the Red Cross, and I was feeling kind of bad about it after some of the things I read. This puts my mind at ease.

[cally]

27. Thanks for this

After reading this, I'll make a second donation to the Red Cross. I'm glad you and your family are safe.

[HoosierClarkie]

28. Thanks for posting this!

:hug: I am glad you are ok!

[Cyndee_Lou_Who]

29. Peace and Love to you, Maddy. So glad that you and your family are safe.

I made a cash and blood donation. Take care. :hug:

[hunter]

30. Thanks for this post.

Be careful with those chainsaws!

[cornermouse]

31. If I remember correctly, facts are that 80 - 85% of the donations

already go to the Red Cross. That's pretty close to a monopoly.

[mcscajun]

32. Glad you posted this...I had the very slightest case of "donor's remorse"

after donating to them, based on a post I read here. I still hoped my donation would do the good I'd hoped it would. Glad to see it's doing so.

[greatauntoftriplets]

33. Thanks, Maddy and good wishes to you.

I haven't seen the thread in question, but never regretted my donation to the Red Cross. The company I work for matched the donation, which pleased me.

Hope you are well. You've been through an extremely difficult time.

[etherealtruth]

34. I couldn't donate much ...

but we opted not to go away for Labor Day and donated what we would have spent to the Red Cross.

I did volunteer work for them, in my youth ... so the item in LBN didn't sway me.

hope your recovery from this is as swift as possible.

[MuseRider]

35. Maddy dear

there has not been one day I have not thought of you and your family and worried. I did see your earlier post that you were OK but still...I am glad to see you are home and getting the work started. Are all the critters OK? Love you Maddy, so glad you are eating, we were feeling funny about our donation but no longer. :hug:

[TwilightZone]

36. kick

:)

[really annoyed]

37. Thank You

I've never doubted my dontations to the Red Cross.

Good luck to you.

[lostnfound]

38. Thank you for this insight. Wariness, though needed, sometimes interferes.

So many good groups get taken over and turned into scams.

It's very helpful to hear this.

[RandomKoolzip]

39. My coworkers had a yard sale last saturday.

We raised $1471 and sent it all the Red Cross.

[Penndems]

40. Thank you, Maddy - very happy to hear you are safe

Thanks for the kind words about the Red Cross. I'm going down to your neck of the woods in a few weeks as a Red Cross Volunteer.
I'm looking forward to meeting and help the folks down that way in some small capacity.

[gollygee]

41. I gave to the red cross

they seem to be the first there when anything like this happens so that's usually where i give money.

[pitohui]

42. thanks maddy

i was shocked how much harm one badly researched article by a person w. an agenda could do

wake up, ppl

[merh]

43. Sorry Maddy - as someone adversely affected by the

lack of organization and coordination of the Red Cross - I will disagree with you.

Yes, they serve meals, but their financial distribution centers are almost non-existent and that friggin 800 number of theirs is always busy. This is now 3 weeks after the storm and now I am seeing their trucks on my street and in the neighborhood.

3 friggin weeks Maddy - no financial assistance centers that are properly funded or that can be found from one day to the next. An "800" that doesn't work.

The City of D'Iberville yesterday just got relief from the Red Cross, they opened their first shelter in that City. 6 out of 10 homes in D'Iberville were servely damaged or destroyed - folk have been living in tents in their yards or in the remains of their damaged homes. Yesterdayu, the Red Cross finally set up a site to feed and shelter folks in D'Iberville.

They totally neglected Moss Point until we bitched and raised hell, DUer's helped get the word out to Conyers and Waters. Moss Point is a predominately black town north of Trent Lott's home town, Pascagoula. It wasn't until last weekend that they got any Red Cross help.

I am happy you have had a good experience with the Red Cross - I am just telling you that your corner of the world has had better experience with the Red Cross and other agencies than my corner.



As a homeless member of the Coast, I say the Red Cross is