A dollar here, a hundred there, a thousand more to the American Red Cross. At workplaces large and small, 3,000 miles from ground zero, the giving goes on.
It goes on despite colossal job cuts at Boeing. It goes on despite the grim economic echo those layoffs are sure to bring. It goes on despite a need to stash rainy-day cash in our own kitties.
"Everybody, truly, one way or another, has supported our effort," said Joani Dear, director of public support for the American Red Cross of Snohomish County.
"This community has absolutely beat the bushes," Dear added, sharing a list of contributors so long it would take up this entire column.
From the Alderwood Water District to Kimberly-Clark Corp., from schools to retirement homes, from the Snohomish County Courthouse to Papa Murphy’s Pizza, people have searched hearts and opened wallets.
Dear wants donors to know their aid will be used where it’s needed most, helping people affected by the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C.
The national Red Cross uses 15 percent for administration, "and 85 percent goes directly to the effort, absolutely," Dear said.
That effort includes mental health assistance and health care, disaster cleanup and food and shelter for displaced residents and cleanup workers. Fourteen local people are still on the East Coast in the name of the Red Cross, she said.
More than a month after the attacks, we still hear about acts of heroism. In Snohomish County, we still see acts of kindness.
At the Everett Clinic, doctors and workers wore red, white and blue one recent day. In exchange for wearing jeans, the staff made donations to the Red Cross totaling $24,331, said Kathy Moore, the clinic’s director of marketing.
Rick Cooper, CEO of the Everett Clinic, matched the individuals’ gifts, and donations by several departments added about $11,000. A vendor, California-based temporary worker agency Robert Half International Inc., matched the combined clinic gift, resulting in a whopping $121,200 donation.
"We were overwhelmed," Moore said. "That massive tragedy affected our lives like nothing before. It just touched our hearts."
Dear said the county’s Red Cross has been given at least $300,000 to be sent east for Sept. 11 aid, but that tally hasn’t kept up with the constant donations.
In Marysville, a small workplace stepped up to the plate in a big way. Linda &Co. Espresso Deli and Desserts took orders in advance for lunches to be delivered Oct. 3.
"We’re a little guy, a one- or two-man operation," deli owner Linda Wright said. "We have a TV in our little restaurant, and just watching the devastation and listening to other people’s stories, we thought, ‘What can we do?’ "
They did plenty, turning the coffee spot into a sandwich-and-salad assembly line. Wright’s co-worker, Linda Krom, said the deli took 145 orders, all paid for with checks made out to the Red Cross.
Regular customers washed dishes and delivered lunches as far away as Arlington and Everett. In the end, they gave $1,507 to the Red Cross, Wright said.
"I guess I lost a day’s business, and we probably spent a couple of hundred dollars on food. It was a small thing," Wright said. "One of my customers is a fireman on Mercer Island, and he flew to New York to help.
"People in this country really do want to pull together," she added. "By yourself, you don’t feel you can make an impact. One can’t do it alone."
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