Anna, I can see your point of view, but I believe the general public was deceived. The Red Cross, upfront, should have said that all the donations would not go to WTC disaster relief . . . then John Q. Public could decide if he wanted to donate to the Red Cross or another fund that specified all monies would go to NY disaster relief . . . or to the police and firemen's fund directly. Those donating were not given that option. Sandy

There is no doubt that local chapters of the Red Cross do important work. I have read that local charities have been suffering from lack of funds due to the National charities receiving the funds for N.Y. I agree with Sandy. The national media appeal by the Red Cross using the N. Y. disaster for donations did lead the public to believe that the money was going directly to the families of the victims of the disaster. It is really a shame that the public wasn't given a chance to make informed choices as to where to donate their money. Maybe the safest way is to give money is to donate to your local homeless shelters and battered women safe houses. Better still, maybe we all need to volunteer some of our time to help those in need. Marilyn; Lake Co., IL ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sandy Laurie" <sandylaurie@alltel.net> To: <PA-PITTSBURGH-L@rootsweb.com> : Anna, I can see your point of view, but I believe the general public was deceived. The Red Cross, upfront, should have said that all the donations would not go to WTC disaster relief . . . then John Q. Public could decide if he wanted to donate to the Red Cross or another fund that specified all monies would go to NY disaster relief . . . or to the police and firemen's fund directly. Those donating were not given that option. : : Sandy :