Within a day of the Jan. 10 at the Windermere Court Apartments at 48th and Walnut Street people from around the area stepped up to help the 100 or more people that the fire made homeless. Folks donated clothes, money and other things to the Salvation Army, the Red Cross and other organizations. Little of that help has seemingly made it to the victims. We wanted to alert readers to a discussion on our original story on aid to the victims. Here is a sample comment from Lara, a former resident of Windermere Court:
I am also a former resident of the Windermere apartments, and yes, I can confirm that none of the clothing donated to the Salvation Army goes directly to us. And the same goes for any money donated to the Red Cross – it DOES NOT go directly to us. We have each been given a $100 voucher to use at a Salvation Army store, in one visit, before mid February. As far as donated clothing goes, unfortunately I have no idea where it can be donated where it will be held for us. Some of us have found adequate clothing through friends, coworkers, and the help of other former residents of Windermere Court. Others have had more difficulty finding what they need. I will say this though… we have barely seen any of all of the aid we keep hearing of, and it is not only disheartening, but angering. Where is it going? We (many former residents) keep reading misinformation about such resources that have supposedly been provided to us in news articles again and again. We have not been put up in hotels or apartments by anyone but perhaps friends or family, and we have been mostly fending for ourselves at the same time as grieving what we’ve lost. We’ve been communicating with one another and have been each other’s best source of information and resources. I wish I could help you help us, but I don’t know exactly how to do that.
See more comments here. Next week we plan to do a one-month update on what’s happening with fire victims and the building.
February 6th, 2011 at 8:53 pm
Very distressing as I made a contribution to the Red Cross on their Website which had a link to donate to the Windermere fire victims.
If anyone had renter’s insurance, I am a licensed and bonded public adjuster and can help in that capacity.
February 7th, 2011 at 1:57 pm
Hmmm, didn’t people learn this lesson with Haiti? That money donated to smaller, grassroots rescue projects had better chances of reaching the people there than a gigantic aid agency?
This really is a shame, though, and I hope more pressure put on the Red Cross/SA will get something out of them.
February 9th, 2011 at 1:22 pm
I am the communications director for the American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania. We are the organization handling the disaster relief efforts following the Windermere fire.
I can not speak to the Salvation Army clothing situation as I do not represent the Salvation Army.
Two things need clarification:
1) The Red Cross does not accept non-monetary donations. Anything that was donated to fire victims that was not money, was handled by someone else. Since, I do not speak for the Salvation Army or other organizations, I can not speak to how those clothes were distributed.
2) As far as donating money to the Red Cross, any money people donated via our website or via check is used to help all disaster victims. Since we make the money available to disaster victims within 24 hours or so, we don’t wait for people to donate to give out the money. So any money people donate is used to replenish the money we gave out. So the next time there’s another Windermere fire, we need to be able to make the money available as soon as possible.
In the case of the Windermere fire, we gave out FAR MORE than we got back in donations.
As far as the amount of money people receive, it’s determined on a case by case basis taking various factors into account, including the number of people in a family, what was lost, and what they will need to get back on their feet. Red Cross assistance is designed to meet immediate emergency needs like food, clothing, and shelter. We don’t replace everything people have lost. We are designed to allow people a few meals, clothing on their back, and a place to stay for a few days.
Thanks for taking the time to read this response.
Dave
April 4th, 2011 at 11:27 am
This goes to DAVE THE BOSS AT THE RED CROSS PA CHAPTER. YOUR SOCIAL WORKERS ARE OF NO HELP. GETTING A DONATION IS WORSE THAN PULLING TEETH. YOU GAVE OUT MORE THAN YOU GOT BACK? NOT EVEN CLOSE-YOUR COMPANY OVERALL COLLECTS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR IN AID. BUT YOUR ORGANIZATIONS PROBABLY POCKETS MORE THAN HALF. I LIVED HERE-BEEN THRU IT AND I KNOW FOR A FACT HOW HARD IS IT.