Even adults can fall prey to thinking money grows on trees when it comes to certain things. Some agencies and groups are such a longstanding part of our community that we expect them to be there forever, just as strong as they’ve always been.
While it shouldn’t be a surprise to learn the Snohomish County Chapter of the American Red Cross is having trouble raising money in this economy, it might shock some to learn how desperate the local agency’s situation really is.
Until this familiar and critical agency gets its financial footing back, this community might not be able to expect the same level of help from the Red Cross. How many times have you read an article in the paper about a house fire that left a family homeless? Almost every time, that sentence is followed by one telling the reader the family is receiving assistance from the American Red Cross.
The agency known for being there to help anyone who needs it is now the one in need of help.
Before you suggest the agency simply "trim the fat," don’t. It has already been done. Going from 22 to seven employees trims more than fat — it carves away some serious muscle. The local Red Cross is not a government agency and it doesn’t get money from the agency’s national headquarters unless it’s a national emergency, so there’s no door to knock on to ask for a little more. In fact, other chapters, including the national chapter, are hurting, too. The national disaster relief fund has a cash balance of a mere $1.5 million — far from the $56 million necessary to safely cover a host of major emergency responses.
Dozens of local community leaders and activists are expected to gather next Tuesday to come up with ways to help the agency both short- and long-term and raise some immediate money. That’s encouraging, but it’s not an excuse for the rest of us to sit back and let someone else do the work and solve the problem. Those of us who can dig into our pockets and come up with some money should help the local American Red Cross and so many other agencies like it that are hurting as much as the people they are trying to help.
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