Posted on 03/04/2006 6:35:20 PM PST by Gomez
THE American Red Cross has come under fire over payments to publicists who recruited stars to add lustre to its image, even as funds ran short for victims of Hurricane Katrina. The controversy could not have come at a worse time for the charity: this Tuesday, it unveils a “celebrity cabinet” of personalities whose glamour will be exploited to attract money, volunteers and donations of blood.
Its critics are unhappy at what they call an inappropriate use of funds. “They’re hoping people will send them money on the basis of celebrity, as opposed to good works and effectiveness,” said Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy, which monitors charities’ finances.
The Red Cross was reported last week to have paid consultants more than $500,000 (£285,000) in three years to recruit stars, pitch its name in Hollywood and promote its chief executive as the face of the charity.
A New York publicist receives $5,000 a month to lure celebrities and polish the charity’s image in Hollywood, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.
A company in California has been paid $114,000 to get the Red Cross included in story lines for film and television, and a Texas firm of image specialists won a contract for $127,000 to boost the profile of Marsha J Evans, the chief executive, a year before she left with a $780,000 severance package.
The Red Cross defends its spending, insisting monthly payments to the publicist Paul Freundlich have been cost-effective. “His efforts have made a huge impact on the American public in terms of increasing financial donations, volunteers and blood donations,” said Julie Thurmond Whitmer, head of the charity’s Washington office.
The row follows a censure by Congress for diverting contributions for the September 11 emergency to other uses and criticism last week from the Senate finance committee, which is investigating the charity’s slow response to Katrina.
Some of the media sniping seems disingenuous, however. How many news organisations would really have sent reporters to cover the Red Cross’s campaign to vaccinate 13m children in Kenya? They did when Jane Seymour, the actress, went along.
modest $80,000 houses
They still exist??? WHERE??? I want one!
The UN and the Red Cross are one in the same.
Quick to collect large amounts of cash.
Stagnant and corrupt with funds collected.
End of story.
I give to any organization affiliated with Christianity.
Secular organizations tend to be the most self-destructive and deceitful.
Between the Red Cross and the United Way this sh*t never seems to end.
"******LOL. Seriously though, I think we ALL learned a lesson here."
I know I have,LOL
Here is a link you can use to get some info on charities. It's not perfect, but it helps.
http://www.give.org/
I think I'm going to follow your and Emmet Fitzhum's advice and donate to a Christian organization.
Of course when I gave to the Red Cross, that's what I thought I was doing.
Thanks to the posters on this board, I know better....
Between this Red Cross reminder and the "Catholic Charities" thread, EVERYBODY shouls use this tax season to review the politics of the "charities" they support.
We have a responsibility to know where our money is going and the work it is supporting!
I've told this story here before, but my Uncle was going to be shipped off to the Pacific during WWII, when he got word that his mother was ill, and not expected to live. He requested emergency leave through the RC, and was told "no way." The chaplain suggested he try the Salvation Army, but when he told the chaplain he was Jewish, he was told that it wouldn't matter. When he contacted the SA, they not only were able to get him is emergency leave, but they made the travel arrangements for him. He was able to see his mother before he left for the Pacific.
Until his dying day, he swore he would NEVER give a cent to the RC, and he gave quite generously over the years to the Salvation Army.
Mark
SALVATION ARMY gets a donation today.
Yep. Any time an organization gets to the size where teh chief executive is insulated from failure, rather than the greatest victim of it, it's functionally doomed.
Note the Red Cross, United Fund, large auto and auto components companies, and major airlines all have a dynamic where the more money they blow, the more money their out-of-touch top execs get.
Delta Airlines, for instance, wants to cut the salary of its Comair subsidiary's flight attendants from almost $40,000 to $19,000 a year on average. The money will go where the employees' share of stock went: into the pockets of CEO Glenn Tilton, who has "earned" hundreds of millions by driving his company (and many of its employees) into bankruptcy.
The Red Cross is adept at fund-raising and self-perpetuation, and it spends most of its time, money and effort on those two goals, and secondarily on the comfort and pleasure of its senior execs.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
Same here....my WWII vet dad talked about the Red Cross charging for donuts and coffee in the combat zones.
My Vietnam vet brother saw the same.
A MUCH better route I found for my Katrina donations are faith-based groups that are sending volunteer teams to the Gulf Coast to actually rebuild homes, businesses, churches, etc.
These folks moved in quickly with food and clothing donations...and are still going back, swinging hammers, clearing debris, and helping set things right.
They (obviously) are not getting much MSM publicity, but ask around...I'll bet there's some group in your town doing this. I know of a Catholic group, 2 Baptist churches and a non-secterian group doing this from my city...and no, they are not helping only their co-religionists.
"Had an uncle who said the Red Cross did the same in W.W.II. -- charged the men for coffee and doughnuts. Creepy."
Sure is. and You could say it's a little saying, that something like that is knocking a guy down a peg when he is least able to handle it. plus, it is an indicator of the larger attitude. The fact of the matter is, the primary function of the Red Cross today is to be a giant money machine in charge of the supply of blood. It's a tail wagging the dog type of situation. This business, which Red Cross dominates in the US, brings in some much cash that it dwarfs the significance of the rest of the operation.
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