San Benito County residents are busy collecting donations,
preparing volunteers and coordinating local response efforts
following the devastation Hurricane Katrina recently leveled on the
Gulf Coast region.
Hollister – San Benito County residents are busy collecting donations, preparing volunteers and coordinating local response efforts following the devastation Hurricane Katrina recently leveled on the Gulf Coast region.
Both the local Red Cross and Salvation Army are
raising money and sending volunteers to the region, where hundreds have died and millions are without electricity. Local churches and schools are also joining in the national relief effort by collecting donations for hurricane victims.
The Monterey/San Benito County chapter of the Red Cross has already held two disaster training sessions for volunteer emergency responders and has plans to hold several more, according to Kathleen Write, gift planning officer for the local chapter.
In the past two days, Hollister’s Red Cross office has received more than $40,000 in donations – the largest coming from a Hollister resident who brought in a check for $7,500, she said. Another couple from Redwood City donated 1.8 million frequent flyer miles to the Monterey/San Benito County Red Cross, Wright said.
“No amount is too small,” Wright said. “Every little bit counts.”
And while Wright, who plans to head to the Gulf Coast sometime next week, acknowledges that some disasters are “over-funded,” she said that is unlikely to be the case with Hurricane Katrina.
“In this situation it probably will not be too much money, but we really encourage people to donate to the Disaster Relief Fund,” Wright said.
The Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund collects money for disasters all across the county, Wright said. Wright was amazed by the “incredible generosity” of Hollister and San Benito County residents.
The organization has already sent veteran responder Doug Johnson of Salinas to a staging area in Little Rock, Ark. More than 50 additional volunteers are on hand, including former Hollister mayor and local business owner Tony Bruscia.
Bruscia and others are awaiting specific deployment orders from the Red Cross, but will likely leave Saturday morning, driving an emergency response vehicle from Hollister to Arkansas. Bruscia, a veteran responder, has a general knowledge of what to expect in the devastated Gulf Coast region from his experience in New York after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he said.
“My experience is that you can have an idea (of what to expect),” he said. “But when you actually get there it’s overwhelming. The hardest thing to be prepared for is the sadness.”
Although the Sept. 11 attacks created widespread panic and a general feeling of “evil,” Bruscia said the damage of Hurricane Katrina may be much greater in some ways. And such extensive damage motivated Bruscia to volunteer to help out in the Gulf Coast.
“I believe that when you help other people, you get far more in return,” Bruscia said. “And that alone is payment enough.”
In addition to the Red Cross, the Hollister Salvation Army is also coordinating a local response effort. The organization began sending out information via the post office and e-mail Friday, Salvation Army Lt. Ramon Garcia said.
The Hollister Salvation Army has already received several donations, but a total dollar amount has not yet been calculated, Garcia said. While the Salvation Army is also preparing to send volunteers to the region, it will focus the majority of its efforts on fundraising. However, being 2,000 miles away is frustrating for the volunteers who are trying to do as much as they can for the victims of Katrina’s wrath.
“Right now there is not much we can do. I wish I could run over there and help, but I have to stay right here,” Garcia said. “We are working hard to raise money, but we cannot turn our eyes from the local community. At this moment we’re just requesting money because it is easy to transfer over there.”
The three Catholic churches in Hollister are also collecting money to help with the disaster relief effort. All the money collected from offerings this weekend will go to Catholic Charities USA, a national religious charity organization, and will be sent directly to local churches in the affected areas of the Gulf Coast, an Immaculate Conception Church secretary said. And at Calvary Baptist Church and School similar efforts are being made, School Administrator Walt Lindquist said.
“Right now we’re praying for all those folks,” he said. “And we’ve already had one young man volunteer to go down there.”
But it’s not just the grown-ups getting involved, local students are also helping out. The San Benito High School District is joining forces with the Red Cross to raise money for the hurricane victims, said Superintendent Jean Burns Slater. The school’s Junior Red Cross will be having a lunch meeting on Sept. 6 to discuss relief efforts, and several students collected donations during a football rally Friday.
“There has been a really strong response and reaction from students,” Slater said. “These young people are very giving.”
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or br******@fr***********.com.
How to help
Katrina victims
American Red Cross
Providing emergency food, water, shelter and emergency care for victims
San Benito County chapter: 636-2100
National: 1-800-HELP-NOW
www.redcross.org
Red Cross Family Reunification Web site: www.familylinks.icrc.org/katrina/locate
America’s Second Harvest
Seeking financial donations to coordinate efforts of food banks on a national level to help feed refugees
San Benito County Chapter: 722-7110
National:1-800-344-8070
www.secondharvest.org
Salvation Army
Providing food, counseling, water and assistance locating loved ones. Seeking financial donations and volunteers
Hollister Corps: 636-9823
National: 1-800-SAL-ARMY
www.salvationarmyusa.org
Americares
Seeking donations to help fund care packages containing personal hygiene and other supplies.
1-800-486-HELP
www.americares.org
Operation Blessing
Seeking donations to help churches and auditoriums convert into temporary shelters.
1-800-436-6348
www.ob.org
