As we begin the process of lifting the restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic, I want to explain why I do not donate to the Red Cross. This "non-profit" began in Italy in 1859. It began in the USA in 1881, initiated by Clara Barton. She hoped to emulate the good work being done by the original model. However, a lot has happened in the USA since then. Before the USA got involved in the Second World War, the Red Cross would respond to an emergency anywhere in the country that needed help with food, temporary shelter or medical supplies. Now a lot of that work has been assumed by various local government agencies who have basically pushed churches and other agencies aside. As government assumed a larger and larger role in disasters, other groups who had helped since 1776 became more locally focused and spent their time and money in their own areas.
My story begins in 1939-1940 in Marietta, Ohio. There was a flood on the Ohio River. A young mother and her two children, a girl age five and newborn boy were living in a two-story rented house. As the flood waters started rising from the road to the yard to the foundation of the house, the young mother watched and worried. Her husband was at work and she was unsure what to do in the event the water continued to rise.
Her home was organized like many at that time. There was a basement where she did her laundry and kept her home-canned fruits and vegetables. The first floor was the kitchen, bathroom, and living area. Bedrooms were on the second floor. Then her house began to flood. She tried as much as she could to kept the water out but it was just too much. Now this struggling young family could not afford a camera at that time so she was not able to provide photographic "evidence" of what was lost. By the time a Red Cross rescue boat finally arrived, she was looking out her bedroom window. The picture below shows she was not alone -- a lot of homes were flooded - including some (as the caption indicates) to the THIRD floor.
The men on the boat asked where her husband was - she yelled back to them that he was at work. Of course, there were no cell phones then so she had no way of knowing if his workplace was under water too --or if he was even all right. Then she asked if they could help her since she had no food, no diapers, or anything else where she was stranded. They yelled back that would try to send someone back to her with supplies but until then, "you've got a dry place to stay for now," and they LEFT.
By the time I was born (ten or twelve years later) she still had not forgotten that day. (I'm the toddler in the stroller). When I started school, they would have an annual fund-raiser and they wanted 100% participation. I was always scolded because I did not bring anything for the Red Cross. One year I finally got the courage to tell the principal that my mother would not give to them because they did not give to her when she needed it most.
Now, some seventy years later, I watch for news reports of how and where the Red Cross is helping during the current crisis. There has been extremely little coverage of any activity on their part. I could only find a few mentions of it online and nothing for my area. Soooo-- as Paul Harvey used to say at the end of his radio broadcasts, "Now you know the rest of the story." There are several memes on social media comparing what various agencies do with the money they get and how much of it goes toward a fantastic salary for the President or CEO of that agency. You can check those out for yourself if you want to know more.
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