Red Cross helping Haiti? what a joke...

This is a story from my sister:

"I call the cortland american red cross in new york cause i have some childrens clothes and some canned goods that i have i wanted to send to haiti and i didnt see any donation places for things like that so i asked them and the guy told me on the phone that they werent accepting second hand items, that they only accept CASH donations cause they dont have the manpower or resources..."

ARE YOU F***ING KIDDIN' ME? the american red cross doesnt have the resoucres??? this screams american capitalist greed bullsh*t, does it not? they dont want to help those people, they want more money!! beauracracy has corrupted every level of public service... this country is f*cked..

In todays day and age,decisions are made from economic motives rather then humanitarian motives.
Motive being the keyword.
Everything is about money these days and I agree its disgusting.

[edit on 10-2-2010 by DrumsRfun]

No, they need money to buy medical supplies, shelters etc.

You obviously don't realize the logistics of receiving, sorting and shipping old clothes and canned food. It's not what they need and it would be a waste and inefficient.

They don't have the resources and money to waste sorting out your donations, send them to a Goodwill store or something...

[edit on 2/10/2010 by ANOK]

B*** S***!

I got the same response during Katrina. The Red Cross doesn't need the manpower to do this sorting. All they have to do is box up bulk donations and get them on the ground in Haiti. There are hundreds of thousands of displaced people there to do the logistical sorting and giving away.

It doesn't take much manpower to take bulk donations, put them in boxes, secure them to pallets, and load them onto trucks and planes.

The "we only need your cash" mantra is why charities have such a bad name and people are hesitant to give. Sure take my $1 and send $0.31 to Haiti. That sounds terrific, and unfortunately that is an optimistic amount based on the most credible charities and based on their own disclosures. I read somewhere that the real number is probably closer to $0.20 for the reputable charities and in the single digits for the less reputable ones!

If they won't take my warm blankets, and my warm socks, then they certainly are not getting my dollars!

[edit on 10-2-2010 by getreadyalready]

When shelter, medical supplies and water are low. they need money.

it is the fastest way for them to do it. and the safest.
its not much different offering a litere of tap water to send to haiti.

I have seen aid being distributed first hand. The Red Cross has in the past accepted goods donations from people who wanted to help. When I was in the Cayman Islands in 1995-96 there were Cuban Refugees (about 1200) that had landed there. There were containers full of stuff collected from Cuban Americans who wanted to help their countrymen but they never received any of it. The goods in the containers were shipped to Cayman, stored behind Tent City and the contents sold in order to collect the proceeds (to pay for the cost of sheltering them? I do not know). This is of course a very inefficient way of supplying aid and using resources so I think they have chosen to not do that anymore but it felt downright wrong to me. I was really shocked by it and vowed never to make a donation again. However, I relented last month and donated to Unicef. I have many more tales to tell when it comes to that local crisis but I won't It makes you lose ALL faith in Government.

reply to post by TheCoffinman


Now, I'm not giving them a free pass, but I think I can see where they're coming from. I've seen reports on the news over here where people that were in Haiti with actual goods (clothes, food, etc.) were surrounded and outnumbered by people and the stuff was stolen. It's been reported that these aren't isolated cases either; it's occurring all over the place in Haiti. People are also being roughed up and injured by people just trying to steal stuff instead of letting it be distributed among the people.

The American Red Cross may be thinking, "Dang. With all that's going on down there, it may be better for us to not distribute food and things of that nature yet because we don't have the capability to send an armored support division with each shipment!" They're just looking out for the safety of their volunteers. The thought may be too that if they can get people taken care of medically, as well as sheltered, a lot of the problem may go away and they can more efficiently distribute goods to people.

reply to post by TheCoffinman

...they dont want to help those people, they want more money!! beauracracy has corrupted every level of public service... this country is f*cked..

Welcome to third world, yankees!!!

reply to post by ucalien


really? were you born challenged or did you suffer from a type of disease that damaged your brain? Either way im sorry for you. America is far from 3rd world. but we are moving in that direction

reply to post by getreadyalready


You are not considering all that is involved, and not understanding the logistics involved.

How do your donations get to the Red Cross, who collects them and sorts them? Who ships them to Haiti and pays for that shipping? Who receives and distributes them when delivered?

You can't have the VICTIMS sorting through who knows what, the Red Cross is there to help them not put them to work.

And why are you so angry? If you feel the need to help then donate money, I did...The Red Cross is not the boogie man, why is it people feel a need to attack institutions like this, AND make everything political? Do you despise people who are not greedy consumers out for themselves, so you have to attack them and accuse them of what you really are yourself? Think about that...

Like Curious George said:

"SEND MONEY"




I gave to the Red Cross but i've been hearng awful things :shk:

reply to post by ANOK
[mo re]

I think a lot of it comes from that nice gentleman, Bill O'Reilly, when during Katrina he stated many organizations were witholding the money and not giving it at all.

He planted his demonic seed on lots of people, I can only hope they DO get the help needed.

Bill O .... i cant believe i called him a gentleman

reply to post by ANOK


No, I am angry, because I feel like these institutions are predatory. I think that they play on people's emotions. I think all too often the people that give the most are the ones that have the least to give.

They are less fortunate, less educated, and less informed, so they cave in to the emotional marketing campaigns and they make sacrifices to try and do the right thing for other people in need, because they understand the heartache.

I think they deserve to know that only pennies on the dollar actually get to where they intend it to get. I think they deserve to know that millions of pounds of ice sat and melted instead of getting into people's hands. I think they deserve to know that out of their $1 only 0.31 made it past the administration costs, then another percent of that went to paying for fuel to run generators to keep ice frozen, so that it could eventually be thrown out! I think they deserve to know that after their dollar became 0.31, and that 0.31 became 0.25, then that 0.25 was probably passed on to a local group on the scene that took another 0.15 for its own administration cost, so now there is left 0.10 to go to the people.

Now, that 0.10 is combined with everyone elses, and it is used to "purchase" from a profit seeking company an item that has been overpriced! Now at least three different entities have made a profit and paid wages and paid for marketing before anything gets to the people who need it!

Now, some good eventually comes, and someone gets their bottle of water or their blanket, only to have roving gangs come by once or twice a week and snatch it up and sell it again!!

Compare that to Giant Cargo Loads of shipping containers full of socks and blankets and tarps and underwear and old shoes and hats. They pull up, they open the doors wide and they let the people take whatever it is that they need. There is plenty to go around, there is no marketing or profit. There is no need to steal it, because there is more than enough for everybody and the second hand price is not worth the crime. Some people will still choose to send money, and that money can pay for shipping costs.

reply to post by getreadyalready


but where do you get this from?

I guess dgtempe is right?

How sad, no wonder society is falling apart people can't think for themselves, being taken advantage of by people with agendas.

You are angry over something that you really know nothing about on the word of some hack on the radio, please tell me this isn't true...

Sure the Red Cross loses and wastes money here and there, they are not 100% efficient (what is) so we should get rid of them? Idiots on the radio just sensationalize and exaggerated everything for effect, to get you to listen to their garbage.

As Maggie Thatcher once said, 'take it as entertainment', that's all it is. You will never be informed on what's really going on from talk radio.

Most people are apparently not aware, but a charitable organization is allowed LEGALLY to spend up to NINETY PERCENT OF ALL DONATIONS on salaries, administration and overhead. NINETY PERCENT. Ten percent is all that goes to the charity, and in this instance, most of that is spent on fuel and planes to get anything down there. TEN PERCENT.

I'm forming a charitable organization, to spread the word. Please send donations.

reply to post by ANOK


I didnt say what he said was the Gospel. BUT people do sit around and become mind controlled by what some of these creeps say.

BTW, i have been right on occasion.

Box up that old junk and send it in a box to any organization in Haiti. It will cost you about $200.00 us. Or maybe just send $200.00. Get the picture?