Reply #2: Here's some info from a DU post that I saved: [View All]

[snot]

For what it's worth. For now, I’m donating to Habitat for Humanity.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4614839
They've GUTTED the Red Cross -- those are the words of an RC
volunteer instructor of 10 years with whom I'm in contact. Very credible person I know from another joint project. She wants this information out, and I agreed. Please consider nominating and kicking this thread -- as well as adding more info to it -- and I hope to have more info to post to it tomorrow after I have a chance to talk to her again.

I'd also like to ask DUers to consider helping with some research on the Red Cross. PLEASE post your questions and I'll try to get answers for them. Remember, tho, her perspective is quite local, not national, and I can't post anything that could conceivably identify her.

First, a little perspective I dredged up myself:
just sayin': American Red Cross chief is a BIGTIME gop hack
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=2056654

LOL, talking with the RC Volunteer (RCV hereafter), at one point I interrupted her and said, "So in other words, the RC has gone fascist too." She had to agree.

In a nutshell, this is what has happened to the RC.

After 9-11, they started serious budget cutting, and her local office went from EIGHT fulltime "volunteer Coordinators" down to TWO PARTTIME volunteer coordinators. Services have suffered incredibly as a result. (Like, duh!)

The duties of the volunteer coordinators -- the duties which suffer as a result of these draconian cuts -- include: coordinating disaster relief workers, training for Standard First Aid/CPR (instructors and students), blood donation efforts, etc. FOR THREE WELL POPULATED COUNTIES.

My contact reports that these paid parttime staff are currently working 14 hour days, but things are dropping between the cracks. Of necessity. For example, when RCV asked if they should try to get more people to donate blood, there was a near panicked "Don't do that!" response BECAUSE THERE AREN'T VOLUNTEERS TO TAKE IT. There aren't enough hours to coordinate training and hours, so something has got to give.

Worse, perhaps, the "disaster" training for volunteers to be sent into the field will be taking place next week, purley because they are overworked and understaffed. They will be deployed within 48 hours after that. RCV feels the death count is "the rising death toll is 100% attributable to their inability to respond due to their ongoing budget cuts," tho we also know that in the case of NO, the RC has been kept OUT of there by FEMA ( http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05246/565143.stm and http://dailykos.com/story/2005/9/2/2125/04978 ). There could easily, however, be other areas where the RC could be of critical aid.

RCV also suggests that you call YOUR local RC office and ask them if they'd had any budget and staff cuts lately, and finished by saying, "Your home town might be in bad shape, too."

We see an awful lot of emphasis by this admin on getting contributions to them and it just seems somehow pushed -- there ARE other charities, for example. (FEMA also has Pat Robertson's Operation Blessing on its website, I understand, but I've not heard them pushed in the media).