December 28, 2004

Tsunami Disaster Relief

If you're like me, you may be hesitant to donate to an organization named the Red Cross (though they seem to have no particular religious affiliation) and you may have reservations about letting the U.N. handle your money. If you are, you can also check out the Joint Distribution Committee or other options.

Update: My father suggested a better reason to not donate through the Red Cross - their (mis)handling of the funds donated for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Posted December 28, 2004 1:32 PM
Comments

And now for the other side. The American Red Cross is over 100 years old. They have over one million volunteers who respond to thousands of disasters a year. They are at the forefront of providing relief at almost every disaster. They spend 91 cents out of every dollar directly for relief. They get the highest rating from every organization that rates charities. It's true that they mishandled funds from September 11th, but can you show me a major organization that is entirely free from that? On the balance, they have helped millions of people. I think that to withold funds because they made one mistake is way to severe.

Posted by: Uncle Harry at December 28, 2004 9:24 PM

Point well taken.
If there were no alternatives - if they were the only ones providing aid in a particular situation - I wouldn't "withhold funds." But I don't think there's anything wrong with saying that certain concerns lead to me to look for other options, and in this case there are many.

The JDC, by the way, spends (according to their web site) at least 90 cents out of every dollar directly on relief.

Posted by: Reuven at December 29, 2004 8:22 AM

You can also contribute through the OU. They have the information on their website www.ou.org.

Posted by: Jonathan at December 29, 2004 2:59 PM
Post a comment









Remember personal info?