I haven´t cared for the Red Cross since they charged me for cookies when I was in the service.

The Red Cross "rakes it in" in the name of the storm, but makes no promises that it will be used for the victims of the storm. Rather it goes into the organization´s general fund - and administrative costs are skimmed off the top. These are much higher than in the Salvation Army, which is manned by many volunteers and a few years ago had a direct aid rendered in the high 90th percentile of what it took in.

PS. After Red Cross administrative costs are deducted, the remainder may go anywhere - but not necessarily the named disaster area.

I never give to Red Cross. They are a fat and stupid organization. Saw firsthand after a local apartment building fire they were giving away $5000 gift cards to folks - those that told a good story, folks the apartment manager told the Red Cross rep that their units were not involved in fire. It is not their money, so they don´t care.

After 9/11 scam who would ever trust them?

This organizational behavior goes all the way back to my father - in 1947 when the SS Grandchamp blew up Texas City - he told me he saw the Red Cross selling blankets to the victims.

It is all Bush´s fault.

Hearings. As good as any to start challenging the profit margins and featherbedding of these organizations. Tax exempt status should be on the table.

I dislike the Red Cross organization on several levels. They are the carpetbaggers of the 20th and 21st century. Always wanting money and never doing a darn thing with it to help people. I learned this in 1960 in Beatrice Nebr. when the Blue River flooded a large portion of the town. The red cross came in and was selling their help while across the street the Salvation Army was giving eveything away. Needless to say my dad gave some bedding that we did not need to the Salvation Army. To this day I will never give a penny to the red cross.

Goes back to WW2, 2 Uncles found the SA selling coffee and donuts when they came off the front lines with not a dime between them.

I never knew a WW11 vet who did not hate the Red Cross, my father included, for the above stated reasons. Should you wish to give, donate to the Salvation Army, they did.

The wife proudly announced the other night that she´d donated $10 at the Costco register. We´ve spent better evenings together.

FEMA is even worse if that is possible.

That said, the woman at the head of the Red Cross earns over $500.000 per year.

You and many others, #7, dating back to WWII, Europe.

Reallygets my goat that media pushes RC constantly. Not one dime from me. Salvation Army is wonderful.

I gave up on the Red Cross after 9/11...they ´duped´ the American public then and they are doing it now.
If you want to give....give to ´Wounded Warriors´
xoxox

#10, Sorry to hear that, Costco´s probably donating that to Obama´s 2016 campaign.

Every WWII vet I had the pleasure of knowing hated the Red Cross.

And like other posters the SA is my major charity other than my church.

And the left hates the ´Army´. That makes it a worthy charity in my book. This also reminds me to send my Christmas donation.

God bless the Salvation Army.

As many times as the Red Cross has done this to raise money with no accounting for the money they raised, I´m not giving them a dime.

I donate to nothing. Let use Obama´s stash. I´m done.

Obama cares about you.

Hurricane Betsy was a devastating storm that hit New Orleans in 1965, as a young boy I remember walking down Airline Highway with my dad. The Red Cross was selling coffee. My dad said lets go over here instead. The Mafia Boss of New Orleans, Carlos Marcello had his people handing out food, ice, coffee all for free.

We are about to learn first hand why other countries give so little to charity when compared to the US in the past. Under this environment it is everyone for themselves. Sad, but now charity really does begin at home.

After the Red Cross ran its 2-minute Obama re-election ad the week before the election, I will NEVER, EVER give them another penny.

Re #8,

Goes back to WW2, 2 Uncles found the SA selling coffee and donuts when they came off the front lines with not a dime between them.

I have never heard of the Salvation Army selling coffee and donuts. That´s a Red Cross thing. The Salvation Army has always provided it to our military free. And in WWI it was taken close to the front lines.

I second the motion. What is the RC doing with all their money? If the Salvation Army was pulling these stunts, you can bet the feds would be on them like white on rice. Time for a proctology exam of the RC.

Red Cross. No Way! Like many others, no no no. My Dad, too, was charged time and again by the Red Cross for their "Good Samaritan" acts of kindness. Cup of coffee" smoke? Cookie or sandwich? You want it? You paid for it. After his stint in the service, he would never give to this organization. He never was adamant as to why. He just never gave them a penny. The Salvation Army was the organization who benefited from the poor decisions RC made.

My grandmother ran into hard times in the 1920s in Boston. She had three kids and no money. The Red Cross refused to help. Thank God for the Salvation Army. They were there until she could get her financial footing back. She always harbored resentment toward the Red Cross as not being a charitable organization. She passed that to her daughter/ my mother on to me.

I donated money to Catholic Charities to help the victims of Sandy. CC seems to be a very highly regarded organization. I never give money to the Red Cross or the United Way.

Ditto for my WWII Dad. He had utter contempt for the Red Cross. They got the same from our family as they gave so many of our WWII troops - nothing.

When Obama showed up for his Sandy photo op and suggested the American People donate to Red Cross, I knew that within 2 weeks there would be a lot of unhappy people.

Hey #11, sorry to disappoint you but I doubt the head of the red Cross would take the job for a mere $500,000. It´s more than a MILLION and that includes a fancy car, a huge expense account and everything they can charge off to the saps that donate to it. The Salvetion Army is where to go to get any help at all! Veteran of 38 years...

I agree with everyone´s opinion of the Red Cross. My go-to charity is the Salvation Army or the Shriner´s Hospital system.

It goes back to World War I. I am old enough to remember those veterans and I was told never to donate to the Red Cross.

My Mother told me that during the Louisville Flood (1937 I think) she said Red Cross was selling blankets, coffee and donuts. Oh my WW II Dad had his own experience with them and despised the Red Cross. We could never mention that name in our house.

I had my own experience. The theory is that if there is a family member who dies, notify the Red Cross and they will notify the service member overseas. The Red Cross told my family they could not locate me to pass on the death in my family.

WAIT: As a member of Armed Forces Radio and TV, I had a radio show every day at 2 pm Mon thru Fri and I did the 6 pm news on TV every night. Yet the Red Cross couldn´t find me. I didn´t learn this until after I returned to the States.

I have the highest respect for the Salvation Army and we (our Radio Emergency Communications Group) supported them in Florida.

One more thing.

One more thing. Do you get those calls to donate to the Policemen or Firemen? Don´t donate. I read an investigation of them and they found that 85% of the donations went to Administrators salaries, phone banks and staff to make the calls. Police and Firemen only got 15% of the donations.

Instead I support the local Fire and Police departments when they have fund raisers. At least I know the money is going direct to them without any middle men.

When the United Way was exposed as a high administrative cost outfit, they stopped getting my money. Well that´s not exactly right. It was when the limo and champaign lifestyle the top dogs treated themselves to made headlines that the contributions ended.

The Red Cross seems to operate like a Mob protection racket, with the aftermath of war and natural disaster used as the threat.

Just checking to see when the United Way was founded (roots in the late 1800s), #35, and came across this:

In May 2009, United Way of America and United Way International were integrated as one global entity, United Way Worldwide.

Global entity? That means contributions can go to any country in the world? Well, that puts the lid on that one, doesn´t it? As the libs are fond of saying, "Think local." Donate locally (not forgetting needy animals) and to the Salvation Army and places like the Shriners Hospital.

My original intent was to report that I worked for a UW agency in the 70s. That agency employed several social workers but what I remember most clearly is when two of those well-paid social workers spent many hours closeted together, searching through federal publications to find grants for which they could write a proposal.

I was astonished to find out that it wasn´t a need that prompted a grant proposal, it was an abundance of money for certain types of projects. End of another innocence.