Superstorm SandyRelief organizations step up their efforts in wake of Hurricane Sandy

In response to Superstorm Sandy, the Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other organizations have combined for the largest relief effort since Hurricane Katrina.

The Herald News reports that the Red Cross has raised more than $117 million across ten states in donations and pledges, and the Salvation Army has raised $5 million online and by phone. Red Cross senior vice president Roger Lowe said the outstanding effort could be related to the large population density in the northeast. More than 317,000 people have registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for disaster benefits.

“Like every disaster, we want to get as much as we can to as many people as fast as we can,” Lowe told the Herald News. “That’s what we’ve been doing.”

The initial response by the Red Cross was paid through an annual disaster giving program, and fundraising efforts will sustain the effort.

It has been two weeks since the hurricane hit, but 470,000 people are still without power in New York and New Jersey and gas shortages have people waiting in lines for hours just to fill up their cars to get to work.  The Red Cross has unloaded nearly every emergency response vehicle as well as 5,800 workers and volunteers.

More than 3.2 million meals have been served, and along with other organizations, have provided shelter space for more than 110,000 people.  NBC and ABC hosted telethons, and the New York Knicks held a charity auction and fundraiser last Friday during their game against the Dallas Mavericks.

Despite the outstanding effort, overall funding by U.S. charities have been slower than in Japan’s 2011 earthquake and Haiti’s 2012 earthquake, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy and nonprofit service provider Blackbaud.

Officials at the Salvation Army feel the lack of effort is due to people being unaware of the full extent of the damage to the Tri-State area.

“For the demand for service and the level of service that still is going to be provided, (donations) don’t come anywhere near close to what we will actually spend,” Major George Hood of the Salvation Army told the Herald.

For the Salvation Army, the next month could become difficult as it will have to decide how to maneuver its forces as it shifts into fundraising for the holiday season with its red kettle campaign. The money raised from the campaign is usually allocated to social services unless donors specify where they want their gift to go.

Major Evan Hickman, the leader of Salvation Army’s New York relief effort, said the area will need a sustained fundraising effort through the holidays to respond to Hurricane Sandy. Hickman feels people who have not seen or lived through a hurricane may not realize the full impact of families losing their homes, or seeing their memories and valuables washed away.

“It’s going to be a long, long term of recovery,” Hickman told the Herald. “It’s time for people just to really dig deep and maybe make a Christmas gift come a little bit early and pick up their cellphone and text us or send us a check. Now is the time to do that.”