Physical, financial relief aid continues

Local volunteers

As of Thursday, five local Red Cross volunteers will have been deployed to New York. Another will leave next week.

Jerry Wilcher, mental heath specialist, was to work with dock workers.

Joe Fournier, mental health specialist, was to work with victims who have been released from hospitals.

Pearline Franklin, logistic technician, was to help make sure that equipment and supplies to support the relief effort are available as needed.

Peggy Belger is a mental health coordinator.

Lisa Jones, of health services, was to man the World Trade Center public hot line.

Dave Brown, emergency services director, will travel to New York on Oct. 10 to serve as a law enforcement liaison.

The Martinez-Evans Rotary Club has made several donations through the years.

But this one was special.

At its meeting Friday, the club invited Carolyn Maund, director of the American Red Cross Augusta Chapter, to talk about the efforts of her organization to help victims of the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks in New York and Washington.

At the conclusion of the meeting, S. Bobby Gagnon, president of the club, presented Maund a check for $2,000. The club raised the money within two weeks.

''This was probably the largest (financial) donation of the year,'' Gagnon said. ''Emotionally, there is no doubt that this was our biggest.''

In her speech, Maund said she was proud of the local effort that has been put forth in the wake of the attacks. Five volunteers from the Augusta area will have been deployed to New York by the end of this week.

''Our volunteers are seeing things that we can't imagine,'' she said.

Local support has been substantial. In addition to the more than $1 million raised by the Care and Prayer campaign, Maund said that donations to her office for the New York relief effort have exceeded $135,000. On Thursday alone, her office received $7,000.

''We count so much money every day,'' she said. ''This is 10 times bigger than Oklahoma.''

The first check, for $112,000, from the Augusta chapter of the American Red Cross was sent Thursday to the national headquarters in Washington. Maund said that every donation, large and small, counts.

''A lot of times parents set their kids up on our counter in the office and they drop their money in,'' Maund said. ''Those are just as important.''