When disaster strikes, people all over the United States want to know how they can help. Americans are a generous people. It is estimated that at least 70%of people around the United States will donate to charity every year. After the terrible wildfires in Tennessee, people all over the country have asked, “How can I help?” While it is always encouraged to make Red Cross donations, what the area really needs is donations of cash.
When people saw the devastation in Servier County, Tennessee, there was a huge increase in American Red Cross donations. People donated a giant amount of things such as blankets, shoes and clothes.The areas has been so inundated by these item and used clothing donations that area officials have asked that people stop sending these things in, News Channel 5andnbsp;is reporting.
Servier County Mayor Larry Waters Waters said, “We continue to be grateful and humbled by the support we are receiving. However, we are overwhelmed with the amount of in-kind donations we are receiving.”
For its part, the American Red Cross answered questions about how that organization uses the donations they receive. People who had made Red Cross clothes donations wanted to know how their donations of clothing, items and money was being used to help the people in Tennessee, WBIRandnbsp;Is reporting.
Clark Parker, from the American Red Cross, addressed the concerns of people who want to donate and help but want to know what the charity is doing with their Red Cross donations.
“Ninety one cents out of every dollar goes directly to victims of disasters. For the most part, that money will stay here in Tennessee. If you designate money like on the website that money will stay here in Tennessee. If you are doing a call in, a telethon, or if you are texting Red Cross to 90999 that goes to disaster services wherever the need is greatest,” Parker said. “We call ourselves one Red Cross. Right now the one that is taking the most resources is the wildfire here in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Sometimes the money will go to the next disaster but it is serving our communities and sometimes when the next disaster comes around here some of that money may come from the last disaster on the West Coast or on the Gulf Coast.”
Other people have been upset by some rumors that have been swirling around. Some reports have some out about people being turned away from shelters in the area. Parker told reporters that there are two shelters that are up and running in Servier County. He went on to say they are no longer accepting Red Cross donations in the form of any kind of items because they do not have the space to store those things. He said they want to use that space for the people who need it.
According to the New York Times, super star and local, Dolly Parton has pledged to give $1,000 each month to every family who has lost their home in the disaster. She released a video in which she said, “I have always believed that charity begins at home. And thatandrsquo;s why I’ve asked my Dollywood Companies, including the Dollywood Theme Park; the DreamMore Resort; my dinner theater attractions including Dixie Stampede and Lumberjack Adventure; plus my Dollywood Foundation to help me establish a ‘My People Fund.'”
Most of the fires have been extinguished but there are patches of fire that remain. The United States has some of the most volatile weather on the planet. It is one of the few countries that experiences hurricanes, tornadoes and blizzards, such as Super Storm Sandy, that ravaged the Northeast a few years ago. Wildfires are a problem throughout a lot of the country.
The number of wildfires around the country seems to be growing. Since the 1990s, the number of acres that has been burned by wildfires each year has grown from about two million acres to about eight million. There is no one cause for this, it has been attributed to a number of things from changes in weather and climate to the fact that people are moving into new areas where they had never lived before.
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