Iowans have donated 12 million dollars to the 20 Red Cross chapters in Iowa to help those devastated by this year’s hurricanes. Lieutenant Governor Sally Pederson says the people of Iowa are assisting in the “recovery” effort in the Gulf States. Pederson says many people in Florida, Lousiana and Mississippi are still struggling to rebuild their homes and their businesses and the donations will help.
“Twelve million dollars is a large chunk of money and makes a significant difference,” Pederson says. “Much of that money came in unsolicited.” Nearly one-and-a-half million dollars of the money Iowans donated to Red Cross chapters here for hurricane relief was delivered in what the agency calls “white envelopes.”
Pederson says those “white envelopes” came from people who just sat down, wrote a check, got a blank envelope and looked up the address of their local Red Cross chapter and wrote that address on the envelope. “That’s a significant amount and done by…people simply being moved by the scenes they saw on the TV. and the reports they heard on the radio, and wanting to make a contribution and make an effort to help these neighbors in Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states,” Pederson says. This week Pederson handed a 10-thousand dollar check to the Red Cross from contributions state employees made at work.