Red Cross Grand Canyon Chapter

The American Red Cross Launches Emergency Fundraising Campaign

In response to a wide variety of national emergencies, The American Red Cross is launching an emergency fundraising campaign to help victims of recent disasters meet their immediate needs for food, shelter, clothing and other immediate services.

The Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund is depleted from a record number of major disasters to have hit the US in 2008, including:

• A record number of tornados throughout the US
• The worst flooding in the Midwest in 15 years
• An early and devastating wildfire season
• An active hurricane season with Dolly, Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike

In the interim, we are borrowing money to cover the costs of the Hurricanes of 2008.  Despite this, we have not cut any of our services to disaster victims and do not expect to do so.

There is a wide perception that we “dodged a bullet” from Hurricane Gustav, but the reality is that we are likely to spend $40-$70 million.  We have served nearly 2,000,000 meals and opened 592 shelters for evacuees to find safe haven from the storms…and we are still at work there:

• Sheltering hundreds of those who can not yet return home
• Providing almost 100,000 meals a day

Meanwhile, here at home, your Grand Canyon Chapter touches over 110,000 people a year – an average of 300 lives every day – including victims of home and apartment fires, military families and people learning life-saving skills. 

The Red Cross is not a government agency.  In order to insure that we are always there to help disaster victims, we are calling on Arizonans and Arizona companies to demonstrate their concern for people impacted by these calamities.

If you would like to help the Red Cross you can make a donation by using our secure online donation feature at www.arizonaredcross.org. 

You can also make a donation by calling us at 1-800-REDCROSS .