Angels unaware

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
Sometimes angels of mercy need help, too.



The Sunflower Chapter of the American Red Cross, which serves Marion and McPherson counties, could use a little help in the wake of the unusually high number of crises it has responded to here in recent months.



A rash of six fires-five in Marion County alone-since the Sunflower Chapter began its fiscal year July 1 has far exceeded the organization’s disaster budget for all of 2000-01, according to Patti Robinson, chapter manager.



The local organization budgeted $7,000 this year for fire assistance. Last fiscal year, fire-related aid in both counties barely topped $10,000.



“Last month alone we spent $15,000 and we’re still writing (vouchers) on one family in Marion County,” she said. “We’re really quite a bit ahead right now.”



The good news about that, according to Robinson, is that Marion County is finally tapping the services of the American Red Cross.



“For so long, Marion County never let us know about fires,” she said. “We told them we can’t be there if you don’t let us know. Now we got what we asked for. At least they’re communicating.”



The Sunflower Chapter has been involved in a variety of ways in Marion County through the years, including through local blood drives, health and safety classes, and swimming and water safety courses.



But much of the organization’s disaster-related services have been “under the radar” of public awareness-and even even public interest, to some degree.



“Communicating what we actually do is a challenge,” Robinson said. “We’ve come down and talked with the city councils in Hillsboro, Marion and Peabody. We’ve told them what we do and how to get a hold of us. We’ve gotten results from some, but not all.”



Red Cross volunteers will respond to every house fire they know about if they are needed, Robinson said. Even in the case of grass fires, when no homes are involved, volunteers will bring food and drink to the firefighters on the scene.



When a house is involved, the Red Cross makes every effort to meet the immediate needs of the victims-the kind insurance can’t or won’t cover.



The volunteer on site will write vouchers that can be used for new clothing, groceries and immediate shelter. Even basic household furnishings, such as beds, tables, chairs, ovens and refrigerators, can be acquired if necessary.



“Everything we do is with a voucher,” Robinson said. “We have a set amount. If they want to go to Wal-Mart, that’s great. But if they want to go to Dillard’s or Penny’s or whatever, we’ll honor it. It’s just that they have a certain amount they can spend.”



Vouchers for residents of Marion County are made to businesses within the county whenever possible, she added.



“We try to help Marion County out (economically) as well as just the fact that we’re helping the families who have the fire,” Robinson said.



The Red Cross will step in to meet a variety of needs, but it also encourages self-reliance as time and circumstances allow.



“It’s really easy to be depressed after something like a disaster, and it’s easy to sit back and let everybody do things for you-which is the worst possible thing you can do,” Robinson said. “You need to get up and be active and start helping yourself. That helps you to get back on your feet again.”



Donations are the lifeblood of Red Cross, Robinson said. Recipients are never billed for the services the Red Cross provides.



The Sunflower Chapter receives almost all of its funding from local contributors.



“That’s how we live,” Robinson said.



And that’s another area where Marion County’s involvement has been lagging through the years.



Part of the challenge, Robinson said, is that McPherson County has a United Way which is the chief vehicle through which donations for the Red Cross are collected and disseminated.



Marion County has no United Way, though leaders recently considered launching one. But the plan encountered a hurdle when it was discovered that a United Way office would have to be established and maintained in the county.



Without a centralized vehicle, the task of raising funds in Marion County is greatly complicated, Robinson said.



Generally, aid Marion County receives through the Red Cross far exceeds the support the county generates in return.



Three-fourths of the chapter’s income regularly comes from McPherson County. But during 1998-99, for instance, Marion County received almost 60 percent of the money the Sunflower Chapter spent on disaster services.



Robinson wondered whether one reason for the disparity may be that Marion County residents mistakenly think McPherson County residents receive most of the chapter’s benefits.



But if Marion County lacks some of the Red Cross programs McPherson County enjoys, it is only because Marion County hasn’t asked for the programs or doesn’t have the volunteers to run them, Robinson said.



“My office is in McPherson,” Robinson said. “But we feel we are in Marion County. We do everything in Marion that we do in McPherson County.”



Part of the challenge in Marion County, Robinson believes, is that many of the churches have formal and informal networks for helping people in crisis. Those are good networks, she said, but the Red Cross can complement those services in most cases.



“The best part of it, which is what we’ve found everywhere we work, is that everybody can work together,” she said. “We all do different things.”



Another hurdle to overcome has been the reluctance of beneficiaries, over the years, to admit their need in the midst of a crisis.



“A lot of people think they have to pay us back, and that’s not true,” she said. “This is money that comes from the American public.”



Once services are provided, many beneficiaries are reluctant to spread the word.



“We’ve had more than anything else in Marion County that if they’ve been helped, they don’t want to talk about it,” she said. “But everybody in their lifetime has times when they need help.



“That’s what makes America so wonderful. If you help me, then, when I am a little further ahead, I will donate back so that the money can help somebody else.”



Robinson said her organization has struggled to know how to raise the consciousness of Marion County to the benefits and obligations of Red Cross work.



For the past two years, the Sunflower Chapter has entered the county fair parade as way to elevate the cause, but the recognition and response from onlookers has been minimal.



The Sunflower Chapter has volunteered to participate in the county’s annual health fair in Hillsboro, but has chosen not to use its funds to pay the entry fee required here.



“We’d love to have more presence, but we don’t know how to go about it,” she said. “We know we have a lot of work to do, but we don’t know quite what to do to let people know.”

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