[meteorite-list] Re: Statement on Donation (was "New Orleans")

From: Notkin <geoking_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Sep 5 16:08:05 2005
Message-ID: <BED34EF0-1E48-11DA-8795-000393593854_at_notkin.net>

Dear Listees:

100% of the money raised from our charity raffle will go to the
American Red Cross.

I made this statement at the outset, and out of respect for the many
people who have already given money to the charity project, I feel it
would be inappropriate to now change the recipient(s) of our community
donation.

Some List members do not feel comfortable donating money to overtly
religious groups, and I am one of them. The M-List represents many
different political and religious viewpoints, but I hope we can all
agree that the American Red Cross is a nondenominational, apolitical
body, trying to give help where it's needed. I appreciate that a large
organization like the Red Cross has administrative expenses, but I'm
sure they are doing the best they can.

As for Bob's suggestion of trying to find someone on the ground who can
distribute the funds directly, I think it's a nice idea, but in my
view, impractical. I certainly don't have time to try and find someone,
and how can we be sure that such a person could be trusted to do the
right thing with our money?

In times of emergency, my view is it's best to let organizations like
the Red Cross -- who have well over a hundred years' experience of
helping people in danger -- use their expertise to save as many as they
can.


Sincerely,

Geoff N.
Received on Mon 05 Sep 2005 04:07:54 PM PDT