Story originally printed in the Tomah Journal or online at www.tomahjournal.com

Published - Monday, June 16, 2008

Flood relief effort raises more than $91,000

More than $91,000 was donated to the American Red Cross during a fund drive for flood relief Friday in La Crosse and Viroqua, Wis., officials said.

A total of $91,316 had been dropped off by the time collection sites closed at 6 p.m. at the La Crosse Center and Nelson Agri-Center in Viroqua, said Cheryl Hancock, executive director of the Red Cross Scenic Bluffs Chapter.

“You stop and think about what community members are going through right now with the gas prices, the food costs, and that they were giving so generously less than a year ago,” said Gretchen Murphy-Bowman, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross. “Yet they went out of their way to make a donation today, to make sure that people affected by this disaster could get assistance.”

This total also does not include some credit card payments and checks dropped off at the local Red Cross office, said Hancock.

Last August’s Flood Relief Event raised $403,000 in one day.

Money raised in both events is used for emergency housing, food, clothing, personal hygiene supplies, salvage supplies, health-related needs and other emergency services, such as client assistance cards that work like a debit card to help with immediate needs.

Donations still can be made for flood relief by calling 1-800-837-6313 or sending a check or visiting the local Red Crosse chapter office at 2927 Losey Blvd. in La Crosse.

All stories copyright 2006 Tomah Journal and other attributed sources.