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Local Red Cross chapter raises $1,000 - Helping with tornado relief
May 14, 2010
LAUREL — The Pine Belt Chapter of the American Red Cross hosted a fundraiser Wednesday at Sawmill Square Mall for the organization’s tornado relief efforts in north Mississippi.
The F4 tornado killed several people in Yazoo City and elsewhere in late April. Just hours after the storm, local chapters of the Red Cross and Salvation Army responded with food and temporary shelter.
Peggy Owens-Mansfield, executive director of the Pine Belt Chapter of the American Red Cross, said the national organization will spend more than $1.2 million on relief efforts there.
“It was bad enough to begin with,” she said. “Then, the next weekend, it came back. I understand that a number of folks in Alcorn County are still displaced.
“The federal declaration will help, but Red Cross provides immediate assistance,” Owens-Mansfield added. “At least, they can have a safe place to stay and a warm meal.”
Owens-Mansfield said the destruction in Yazoo City is “amazing.”
“There’s one house down,” she said. “It skips a few and then there are five or six more. The devastation was widespread.”
Wednesday’s event, which was coordinated by the Mississippi Broadcasters Association, raised about $1,000. Owens-Mansfield said that money will go into the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which supports such efforts as Haiti and the north Mississippi tornadoes.
“We’re just proud of whatever we get,” she said. “Anything we receive we’re very appreciative of.”
Owens-Mansfield said Mize Attendance Center in Smith County brought in approximately $500 of what was collected.
“They had a tornado a few years back so they’re very conscious of tornadoes,” she said.
Terry Temple, materials support services for the Pine Belt Chapter of the American Red Cross, receives a donation from Charles Cancelli Wednesday during the organization’s tornado relief fundraiser. More than $1,000 was raised to support efforts in Yazoo City and other locations in north Mississippi. Photo/David Owens
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