Area Red Cross chapter in red after disasters

Local chapter could be forced to cut programs incrementally

By: Hilary Parker
   It was the year of the unexpected.
   The sky was blue and the ocean was calm last December, shortly before the tsunami hit Southeast Asia, killing 275,000 people. Battered by a monster of a hurricane, New Orleans’ levees failed, and a horrified world watched helplessly as people were trapped in their homes or became virtual prisoners in the Superdome. As winter was setting in, an earthquake devastated Kashmir, leaving piles of rubble where towns had been, and no shelter from the brutal snows.
   As the unthinkable became the inescapable, one expected thing did happen. The Red Cross heard the call, and it responded. But the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey, based in West Windsor, never expected its own foundation might be shaken by events so far away.
   The American Red Cross of Central New Jersey sent volunteers and vehicles to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf coast and helped local residents to find and contact family members in the disaster areas. It wasn’t surprising that local residents lined up to offer assistance; they’ve always been generous with their time and money.
   It wasn’t expected, however, that as people contributed more and more to large-scale disaster relief efforts, contributions to the local chapter would drop.
   "Every local chapter funds its own operations," said Kevin Sullivan, CEO of the Red Cross of Central New Jersey. Between January and June of this year, the chapter saw a significant decrease in contributions, amounting to several hundred thousand dollars that the chapter was counting on to deliver important services.
   As a result, the chapter could be forced to cut programs incrementally.
   "This was a wake-up call," said Mr. Sullivan. "Many people were saying, ‘Sorry, we just gave to you,’" he said, noting that residents were "incredibly generous" in their donations to international and national disaster campaigns. But they appeared to be unaware, he said, that those contributions would not trickle down to their local chapter.
   Even ardent volunteers like Jean Dolan weren’t aware that contributions designated for specific purposes don’t make their way back home.
   Prior to becoming a family services volunteer with the chapter, Ms. Dolan had no idea of the breadth and depth of the services that the local Red Cross chapter provides on a continual basis. Wary of bureaucratic infrastructure, she delivered her check to the Red Cross specifically earmarked for tsunami relief, only later to learn how crucial funds are to the local chapter.
   "I never understood how critical that money was, to go to the local chapter," she said. "That’s what keeps people trained and prepared to go to the local disasters."
   It is clear that the tsunami, hurricane and earthquake victims needed the Red Cross this year, but so did the residents of central New Jersey. Here at home, the never-ending quest for blood transfusions continued. House fires still consumed possessions and dreams, and flood waters dampened hopes. Here at home, people were still needed to teach CPR, to deliver meals to the homebound elderly and to relay important messages to family members overseas in the Armed Forces.
   The Red Cross of Central New Jersey met those needs.
   In fiscal 2004 to 2005 alone, 16,785 units of blood were collected, 29,970 people were certified in CPR and first aid, and 47,756 meals were delivered to the elderly in their homes. All told, 2,384 volunteers gave 235,000 hours of their time to the chapter.
   The holiday season, from the beginning of November through the end of the year, is typically the biggest fundraising time for the chapter. While the Red Cross is written into the state plan for disaster relief, the chapter is funded almost entirely by donations, not government contributions.
   "We have to be prepared to respond if it was a major disaster — a terror event," Mr. Sullivan said.
   At the same time, the local chapter must be at the ready to respond to house fires immediately.
   "That disaster is just as devastating," he said.
   The local chapter dispatches its Emergency Response Vehicle filled with food and drink for victims and rescue workers alike, any time, any day.
   The chapter supplies almost all of the local hospitals with their blood needs, and typically runs three to four blood drives each day throughout the region. In addition, the offices on Alexander Road in West Windsor house a donor center for blood collection as well as administrative offices and classrooms for disaster education. In a service atypical of most Red Cross chapters, the central Jersey chapter is also the largest provider of meals-on-wheels to the elderly in the area.
   While the generosity of volunteers is extraordinary, it is not enough.
   "Volunteers really aren’t free," said Mr. Sullivan, explaining that funds are imperative to provide the proper training and materials to prepare for, and respond to, disasters. In addition, important marketing campaigns to advertise blood drives and educate potential donors are constantly under way.
   With fewer funds anticipated but with increasing responsibilities, the chapter may be forced to cut programs incrementally. Decisions such as how many meals-on-wheels clients will be subsidized and how long a stay will be provided to disaster victims may have to be made — and the chapter might not be able to provide the services that people have come to expect.
   "Blizzard packs, canned goods, those are the nice things we want to be able to continue to do," Mr. Sullivan said. "Once there is a disaster, money comes in, but it won’t do any good if you don’t already have education, a trained staff and the vehicles."
   While local disasters may not generate media coverage as compelling as the scenes that splashed across TV screens in the wake of the tsunami, they hit their victims just as hard.
   And just as the community has turned to the central Jersey chapter in times of need, the local chapter is now turning to the community as it appeals for people to extend their generosity once again, and direct it to the local chapter.
   "Support to a disaster victim is a gift from the community," said Mr. Sullivan. It is a gift that the local chapter, backed by community support, will strive to keep on giving.
   "It’s a big responsibility," said Mr. Sullivan. "We have to do what we have to do. If there was a big disaster tonight, I would certainly be there."
For more information about the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey, visit www.njredcross.org. The office is located at 707 Alexander Road, suite 101, West Windsor. (609) 951-8550.