Why would someone steal from the Red Cross?
I read the article about the charges against the Red Cross in regard to handing out aid for Hurricane Katrina victims. There were many cases of supplies that were not were they were supposed to be and supplies being handed out without following the proper documentation procedures. In one case, a lady issued herself two money orders and cashed them not far from where she was working. Talk about mass chaos.
The Red Cross has a policy of not hiring felons, which is a good policy. With all the things they do and hand out, it is good to make sure that no one is trying to steal from the people who need it most. In the case of Hurricane Katrina, the Red Cross got such a large influx of volunteers to go and help that they were not able to check the backgrounds of all the volunteers. This is something they should have done. While they may not have had the time to, they should have appointed a few people to just check backgrounds. It would have slowed the process a lot, but they would not have had the same problems they have now.
When I read the articles, I was appalled. I can not imagine why someone would steal from the Red Cross. In my mind, they help so many people and do so many nice things that I assumed anyone would feel horribly guilty for stealing from them. Obviously, not everyone feels the same why I do. I’m sure some people volunteered to help with Hurricane Katrina because they saw an opportunity to take things. Why some people think they way they do, I’ll never know.
The Red Cross should get to the bottom of this and press charges. I think they are already doing so, but if not, they should. It may take a while to investigate everything just because so many things were messed up, undocumented and went wrong. In one case, volunteers were handing out supplies to people who just drove up and said they needed them. The people did not even have to prove that they needed what they were getting. They could have been people from an unaffected area that were just looking for cleaning supplies. They could have also been the friends of the volunteers who were looking to get cleaning supplies or to sell them later and make some money.
With every disaster, there is always someone looking to capitalize on it. This is unfortunate, but the way of the world. In this instance, the people who wanted to capitalize in the disaster volunteered to help out the Red Cross. I think the Red Cross learned a lesson for the future; everyone who wants to help out is not always helping for the right reasons. Some people want to help out as a way to make a few quick bucks from free handouts they do not even qualify for. I think the Red Cross was handling this well by getting rid of a guy who they found out had already been charged with auto theft and for saying they were looking into the situation.
The Red Cross has a policy of not hiring felons, which is a good policy. With all the things they do and hand out, it is good to make sure that no one is trying to steal from the people who need it most. In the case of Hurricane Katrina, the Red Cross got such a large influx of volunteers to go and help that they were not able to check the backgrounds of all the volunteers. This is something they should have done. While they may not have had the time to, they should have appointed a few people to just check backgrounds. It would have slowed the process a lot, but they would not have had the same problems they have now.
When I read the articles, I was appalled. I can not imagine why someone would steal from the Red Cross. In my mind, they help so many people and do so many nice things that I assumed anyone would feel horribly guilty for stealing from them. Obviously, not everyone feels the same why I do. I’m sure some people volunteered to help with Hurricane Katrina because they saw an opportunity to take things. Why some people think they way they do, I’ll never know.
The Red Cross should get to the bottom of this and press charges. I think they are already doing so, but if not, they should. It may take a while to investigate everything just because so many things were messed up, undocumented and went wrong. In one case, volunteers were handing out supplies to people who just drove up and said they needed them. The people did not even have to prove that they needed what they were getting. They could have been people from an unaffected area that were just looking for cleaning supplies. They could have also been the friends of the volunteers who were looking to get cleaning supplies or to sell them later and make some money.
With every disaster, there is always someone looking to capitalize on it. This is unfortunate, but the way of the world. In this instance, the people who wanted to capitalize in the disaster volunteered to help out the Red Cross. I think the Red Cross learned a lesson for the future; everyone who wants to help out is not always helping for the right reasons. Some people want to help out as a way to make a few quick bucks from free handouts they do not even qualify for. I think the Red Cross was handling this well by getting rid of a guy who they found out had already been charged with auto theft and for saying they were looking into the situation.
posted by Jennifer at
3/05/2007 11:30:00 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home