2005 - 09-01-05

Don't get me wrong. I don't mean to paint the
Red Cross with a black brush. It's just I am now skeptical about
how they use the money they get from all generous citizens who
want to help their far-away neighbors experiencing unexpected
suffering. Like with Hurricane Andrew. And now Hurricane Katrina.

Actually, I'd like to hear from some of my readers.
If any of you have stories about the Red Cross... either negative
or positive... I'd love to read those stories. Write me at
[email protected]
.

Now, let's move forward to the hurricanes which
hit Florida last year. In case you don't live in Florida, I'll
remind you we had four major hurricanes hit this state in
just six weeks. (Charley, Dennis, Ivan and Jeanne.) The
damage was astounding. Something like 3 out of 5 homes in Florida
suffered damage or complete destruction from those hurricanes.

At that time, I tried to help by giving a very
informative telemarketing conference which people could listen
to for free. All I asked in return was they donate to the victims
of the destructive hurricanes. Back then, we didn't ask the
donations be made to the Red Cross. That's because my assistant,
Theresa, did her own investigation to find out where donations
should be sent...

So All The Money Would Actually

Be Delivered Directly To The Victims

Of Those Hurricanes!

She found the best organization to distribute
the money was the Rotary Club in Punta Gorda (near Ft. Myers,
Florida where Hurricane Charley hit). I don't know how much
money we raised by our efforts (since the donations went straight
to the Rotary Club). I hope it was considerable and I'm sure
every penny helped.

Now, let's talk about FEMA. FEMA is the United
States' governmental organization which dispenses money to victims
of natural disasters.

Last year, during those four major hurricanes,
the places that got the most money... and... got it almost immediately...
were the cities of Miami (Dade County) and Ft. Lauderdale (Broward
County). That's kind of curious. These are the two counties
who suffered the least hurricane damage in nearly
all of Florida. The truth is, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale completely
lucked out... but... a number of slick, savvy, sleazy people
filed fraudulent claims and got paid enormous amounts of money
by FEMA.