• Originally published July 6, 2008 at 11:35 p.m., updated July 6, 2008 at 11:35 p.m.

Donations to the Crossroads Chapter of the American Red Cross are at an all-time low, said Omar Rachid, chairman of the chapter’s board of directors.

The lag in funding could affect the agency’s ability to continue to provide services to its six-county service area: Victoria, Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson and Lavaca.

Ranging reporter Sonny Long and Rachid discussed the organization’s financial dilemma, its services and how residents in the area can help.

Q: Talk about the current needs of the local Red Cross chapter.

A: We are struggling financially, obviously because donations to the local chapter are down significantly from prior years.

Previously, we have had money in reserve. That money was actually depleted a couple of years ago when Hurricane Katrina hit and then Hurricane Rita hit. We found ourselves providing relief services using our reserve funds.

Luckily since then, we have not had any hurricanes come through the Gulf Coast that were a threat to this area. Normally in non-disaster years you’ll see donations dwindle down a little bit, but not to the level we’ve experienced lately. Donations are probably at an all-time low.

Q: What is the biggest concern caused by this lack of funds?

A: The biggest concern for us at the Red Cross, because we are basically right there with the first responders, is that if a hurricane was to hit this area, we are going to find ourselves – to put it in a Southern term – ‘in a pickle.” We are not going to have the funds to provide to our volunteers so they can provide immediate relief services.

One of the things that Red Cross is well-known for is getting people back to normal life as quickly as humanly possible. With volunteers on the ground with no money to buy supplies, that would hinder the ability of residents in this area to get back to their normal lives.

Q: Why do you think contributions are down?

A: There are probably a slew of reasons. We can obviously just speculate. Nobody really knows. Part of it may be because there was some concern with the Red Cross after Hurricane Katrina hit on the way they handled relief services and the way the money was managed during the relief effort. For the most part, some people were turned off. But that’s not an indication on the local chapter. We manage our funds very responsibly.

Q: What are some the things that have been done locally to offset the shortfall?

A: In 2006 we had four full-time employees, then we reduced that number to three. Right now we are down to one full-time employee in charge of disaster relief services and the Armed Forces emergency services. Then we have a volunteer who takes care of the health and safety courses that we teach. We are operating without an executive director. We want to be certain that when we do hire one, it is the right person for the chapter and the community, and that when we do hire someone we have enough funds to support that addition to the payroll.

Q: How is the local chapter funded?

A: We rely 100 percent on donations. We do receive annual allocations from United Way in Victoria County, Jackson County and Calhoun County. Quite frankly, we receive very few donations from the residents of DeWitt, Goliad and Lavaca counties as those counties do not have United Way campaigns, and we receive no money from the counties themselves in the form of gifts or other support. But we support all these counties with our relief efforts whether we receive monetary support from them or not.

Q: What can people do to support the Crossroads Chapter of the Red Cross?

A: The community needs the Red Cross for many reasons. Because we service six counties, it’s extremely important for this Red Cross chapter to stay open.

People in the Crossroads area need to pay close attention to what’s going on with the local Red Cross chapter and support it, not only as volunteers but also with monetary support to continue to provide the services. It’s basically a grassroots operation. We rely on local donations to provide local services. The money that is raised locally stays locally helping local people.

It has been proven that the people of the Crossroads are extremely generous. I hope they come through and help the Red Cross.

Q: In addition to disaster relief, talk about some of the services the Red Cross provides.

A: The Armed Forces emergency services. We are the only organization that is recognized by the Armed Forces in case of an emergency in the immediate family that can notify a member of the Armed Forces that they need to come home for emergency reasons.

We also provide health and safety training. Last year we trained about 2,800 people who went through our classes, including CPR, lifeguarding, babysitting, and first aid. We train teenagers on lifeguarding and babysitting and area employees at local plants on first aid and CPR. That is a very important service to this area considering the number of plants we have. These 2,800 people are going back into the community and providing these services.

Q: What else do we need to talk about?

A: On an average day we have people from all walks of life come into our office seeking help because we are the Red Cross. In most cases, we are not able to provide them that service because we have a very defined role as to how we can help. One way we can help if someone comes into our office seeking help outside of our area of expertise, we can make the phone calls and refer them to the right agency so their needs are met. We never turn away anybody. We’ll help them find the right resource to be provided assistance.

Sonny Long is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6585 or slong@vicad.com, or comment on this story online at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.

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