The American Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton and a small group of her associates on May 21, 1881. The Red Cross is a non-for profit humanitarian organization that relies solely on the donations and support of others. Since its inception, it has been one of the leading and most trusted humanitarian organizations in the World. As recently as August 2017, the Red Cross was again at the forefront of disaster relief providing $573,000 in financial aid, 414,800 in paid overnight stays in shelters, 1.6 million items such as diapers, cleaning supplies and coolers and 4.5 million meals for victims of Hurricane Harvey. In recent years, however, many have begun to question the wisdom of donating their hard earned dollars to
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Examples included volunteers “arriving with only bleach when people needed food and water.” When food finally did arrive, it came in the form of a “truck load of Danish pastries and cinnamon rolls that were moldy because they were shipped without refrigeration.” According to NPR and ProPulica, the Red Cross raised over half billion dollars for earthquake relief when Haiti suffered the 2010 mega quake. Although a substantial amount of money was raised for Haiti earthquake relief, NPR and ProPublica reported that “the organization did little with the money except squander it.” In one example given by NPR and ProPublica, the Red Cross claimed to have built enough homes in Haiti to provide shelter for 130,000 people when in fact it had only built enough homes for six people. In yet another investigation done by NPR and ProPublica, in the wake of 2012’s Super Storm Sandy and Hurricane Issac, Red Cross employees were reportedly driving around in “empty trucks to make it appear as though the organization was doing more than they actually were actually doing.” The bad publicity doesn’t stop there, however. Because of the numerous reports about the American Red Cross mishandling funds, the U.S. government under the leadership of Senator Chuck Grassley began its own investigation into the American Red Cross. In 2016, Senator Grassley’s office released these findings from the
Examples included volunteers “arriving with only bleach when people needed food and water.” When food finally did arrive, it came in the form of a “truck load of Danish pastries and cinnamon rolls that were moldy because they were shipped without refrigeration.” According to NPR and ProPulica, the Red Cross raised over half billion dollars for earthquake relief when Haiti suffered the 2010 mega quake. Although a substantial amount of money was raised for Haiti earthquake relief, NPR and ProPublica reported that “the organization did little with the money except squander it.” In one example given by NPR and ProPublica, the Red Cross claimed to have built enough homes in Haiti to provide shelter for 130,000 people when in fact it had only built enough homes for six people. In yet another investigation done by NPR and ProPublica, in the wake of 2012’s Super Storm Sandy and Hurricane Issac, Red Cross employees were reportedly driving around in “empty trucks to make it appear as though the organization was doing more than they actually were actually doing.” The bad publicity doesn’t stop there, however. Because of the numerous reports about the American Red Cross mishandling funds, the U.S. government under the leadership of Senator Chuck Grassley began its own investigation into the American Red Cross. In 2016, Senator Grassley’s office released these findings from the