Red Cross says thank you

To the Editor: The Sussex County chapter of the American Red Cross thanks all those generous citizens who supported the first-ever Red Cross Coin Collection with an outpouring of caring and coins on Saturday, May 12. More than $6,000 was raised thanks to everyone who dropped their spare change in our collection buckets at the four locations established around the county for the collection. We also thank the many Red Cross volunteers who gave up their Saturday and generously gave their time and effort to this worthy cause. Proceeds will be used to fund Red Cross programs and services near and dear to the hearts of our volunteers. Many citizens do not realize the American Red Cross is not a government organization. The Sussex County chapter must raise every penny of its operating budget from gifts and donations, fees for the life-saving health and safety and disaster training programs and services we offer, and special events like our annual Golf Classic coming up June 19, and our Quinn Awards Dinner held each fall. The Coin Collection now joins these special events on an annual basis. The funds raised by these events, gifts, donations, and course fees, remain in Sussex County, where they are reinvested in Red Cross programs and services, and support new initiatives that always serve and are widely available to county residents. At least 90 cents of every dollar we collect is reinvested in this way Much of the balance, which goes to the national Red Cross in Washington, D.C., also benefits Sussex County in the form of infrastructure services that support, for example, our Congressionally mandated military services (Armed Forces Emergency Services) programs and the ongoing scientific research which ensures that our health and safety services programs, such as CPR and First Aid, are state-of-the-art and based on the latest scientific wisdom. Again we thank Sussex County for its generosity in making our first Red Cross Coin Collection a success. For information on programs and services, or special opportunities for financial support, call the chapter at 973-579-1600, visit us on line at sussexredcross.org, or stop by our headquarters at 93 Spring St. in Newton. We now look toward June 19 and the chapter’s 14th annual Golf Classic, to be held at the Lake Mohawk Golf Club. Everyone is invited. Patricia S. Day, Executive Director American Red Cross /Sussex County Chapter Newton