(no subject)
The friend I sailed with this weekend is a doctor in the Houston area, and has been volunteering in the Astrodome. She says contributions to American Red Cross go to the national coffers, to overhead, to paying employees of the national organization, and some eventually trickles down to disaster relief. Donations tagged (checks made out to) specific local Red Cross organizations are far more likely to reach hurricane victims. Also, food bank money donations can frequently be cashed in by the food banks at $15-25 (retail) per dollar given. More later.