RUMOR
Red Cross gets reimbursed by FEMA for disaster relief expenses.
RESPONSE: False
EXPLANATION: We rely on donations from the American public for nearly 100 percent of our disaster relief. Only in rare cases we are reimbursed for special circumstances.
RUMOR
Red Cross is throwing away food
RESPONSE: True
EXPLANATION: The last thing we want to do when so many are in need is throw away food. In one case during Sandy we over-estimated the amount needed for one neighborhood – Wantagh. What was left surpassed that time allowed under safe food handling guidelines.
We’ve taken steps to prevent this from happening again. We constantly reassess how many meals we need through an affected neighborhood, and we have to remain vigilant about following safe food handling guidelines.
RUMOR
Red Cross is not helping Rockaways and Staten Island
RESPONSE: False
EXPLANATION: Our feeding trucks go out regularly in both of these areas for those who can’t leave their home and we also have fixed feeding sites serving those areas for people who can get out of their homes. We are tracking the feeding trucks as they move through all of the affected areas and the locations can be found at newsroom.redcross.org This has been occurring for nearly two weeks.
RUMOR
My money doesn’t make it to the storm victims
RESPONSE: FALSE
EXPLANATION: Right now, funds that are coming in are being put to immediate use for the response effort. We’re providing hot meals, shelters, blankets, clean up supplies and other help every day and so as donations come in the door, they are being used to pay for those kinds of things. We also honor the intent of our donors so if you tell us you want your donation to support our Sandy relief efforts, it will.
RUMOR
The Red Cross takes 20, 50 or 70% off the top of donations for overhead costs.
RESPONSE: FALSE
91 cents of every dollar donated to the Red Cross is used to support our humanitarian programs. Only .09 of every dollar is used for administrative costs.
RUMOR
The Red Cross will help me clean out my house/rebuild my property
RESPONSE: FALSE
The Red Cross focuses on providing food, shelter and emotional support during emergencies. Cleaning and repair of houses is not a service provided by the Red Cross, although in many cases we can help with referrals to agencies that do provide that.
RUMOR
The Red Cross provides generators
RESPONSE: FALSE
The Red Cross does not provide generators or assist with power restoration.