The Midsouth Chapter of the American Red Cross is facing afinancial crisis resulting from apathy following a rise in givingfor Hurricane Katrina victims and an upswell in the number of giftsgiven for home fires, officials said.

Donations for the Red Cross have declined markedly in the pastyear, said Executive Director Layla Edwards. She attributes much ofthe decline to giving fatigue caused by the overwhelming responseof the public in assisting hurricane victims.

Coupled with cuts in funding through government entities andcharities like the United Way, the chapter is facing a financialcrunch, she said.

“United Way cut us about 20 percent because they didn’t reachtheir fundraising goals,” Edwards said. “But it wasn’t just us.They cut everyone. Everyone is feeling the pinch. We’ve had to waiton paychecks and bills. That’s how bad it’s been.”

However, Edwards also noted that the chapter spent more thantwice as much as forecast in their disaster assistance budget,which assists families after their homes have burned or othercalamities.

Based on previous disaster assistance expenditures, the chapterbudgeted $15,154 for those occasions, she said, but handed out morethan $31,700 is funding.

The new fiscal year, which began July 1, does not look like itwill be any better, Edwards said. The organization has alreadyassisted in at least three house fires and responded to numerousvehicle accidents, passing out water and food to the emergencyresponders and victims.

Meanwhile, expenditures across the board have also increased,like rent, utilities and training, Edwards said.

“We’re in a financial crisis right now,” she said. “We need toget some money into the chapter. We have to learn to become moreself-sufficient and not to rely on others. That means morefundraising.”

Board and committee members of the MidSouth Chapter, whichrepresents Lawrence, Lincoln and Pike Counties, met this week todetermine the best methods to raise money.

Melissa Smith, disaster services director, said the chapter willbegin a business mailout campaign this month. The campaign includesa flyer that shows how a donation can be used to help others byciting an amount and what can be purchased for that money.

For example, the business flyer states that each $1,000 donatedcan purchase 571 comfort kits of toiletries for disaster victimswho lost their homes, 300 full scholarships for first aid or CPRtraining or 198 blankets or 37 cots for disaster victims who mustspend the night in a shelter, among others.

“I love this, but I think it might be a bit high for mostpeople,” said Kim Carr, chapter disaster chairman.

Carr suggested similar flyers denoting what could be purchasedfor lesser amounts like $5, $10 or $25 also be created for use withindividuals so they can see how their donations can bebeneficial.

The organization is also planning a celebrity golf tournamentfor October, but has not determined the location and is stillorganizing prizes.

“It’s still in the embryonic stages,” Smith said.

A fish fry was also agreed upon, but the date and location hasyet to be determined.

Other fundraising activities were discussed during a round tablediscussion as chapter members strove to find ways to increase theirfunding.