Wildfire Update and Request for Help
Riverside CA
July 11, 2007
The American Red Cross is responding to
the wildfires that continue to threaten
residential areas across Southern
California. Right now our focus is on
providing shelter, food and emotional
support to thousands who are being forced
from their homes.
Here locally, the Red Cross Riverside
County Chapter is operating five shelters
in Temecula and Murrieta with three
additional shelters on standby to be
opened when and if needed. We have
been serving on average, 800 clients each
night.
The Riverside County Chapter needs your
help. Before the wildfires started, our local
funds were at a minimum. And while the
community is responding with great
generosity to help the victims of the
wildfires, those donations will not help
support the infrastructure of our Chapter.
We are reminded when an incident like
this occurs, how important it is that our
local Chapter be financially secure and
available. We must have the resources
and the ability to respond. And as many of
you are aware, we respond to disasters
such as individual house fires on almost a
daily basis. Our resources have been
stretched extremely thin. We have only ten
staff people to cover the entire county. We
have also been forced to strategize
different ways to provide services without
incurring lease expenses for our two
outlying offices in the Coachella Valley and
the Temecula-Southwest County areas.
The City of Palm Desert recognized the
importance of the Red Cross presence in
their community at their City Council
meeting this week. They approved a gift of
$50,000 to American Red Cross Riverside
County Chapter to help insure that services
remain available in the Coachella Valley.
Imagine if every city in the County was able
to step up the way Palm Desert has. We
would appreciate a gift from your city to
help support your local Red Cross and
insure that there is a strong Red Cross
infrastructure here in our community.
If you have any questions, please contact
Lois Beckman, Director of Development at
1-888-831-0031, ext. 1007.
Thank you for your consideration.
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American Red Cross Riverside County Chapter
Pamela A. Anderson
CEO
phone:
1-888-831-0031
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You can help the victims of thousands
of disasters across the country each year,
disasters across the country each year,
disasters like the Southern California
Wildfires, by making a financial gift to the
American Red Cross Disaster Relief
Fund, which enables the Red Cross to
provide shelter, food, counseling and other
assistance to victims of disaster. The
American Red Cross honors donor intent.
If you wish to designate your donation to a
specific disaster please do so at the time
of your donation.
