Donations approach $200,000

Cape Girardeau's Katrina relief contributions continue to mount.

The American Red Cross and the Salvation Army have been flooded with cash, volunteers and community drives. Schools have stepped up, and professionals and businesses are sending help.

"The pace is still continuing," said Amanda Lincoln, Red Cross development specialist. "We're still hearing from people who want to help."

The Red Cross had collected nearly $100,000 by Wednesday.

"There's a lot of challenging that's been going on between professionals," Lincoln said. Dentists, doctors, banks and restaurants have challenged peers to match donations."

Students broke rules to raise money Friday at Central Middle School. The student council sponsored a "Hat Day" on which each student could wear a hat for a dollar donation. The school collected $900, said Debbie Mehner, the student council's public relations officer. It plans to collect loose change and break $1,000 this week. Nonperishable goods are also being collected.

River Radio collected about $8,000 at a community drive at Schnucks on Wednesday.

"What's most touching are the children who are coming in," Lincoln said. At Schnucks, a 4-year-old boy named Alex wanted to help a family so he drew a picture of a flower and wrote "Good Luck." He also emptied the entire contents of his piggy bank -- 39 cents.

A local businessman donated 200 pairs of men's pants to the Salvation Army, Maj. Michael Thomas said, and a bank in Dexter, Mo., donated $1,000.

By Wednesday, the Salvation Army in Cape Girardeau had collected $90,000 and the gymnasium was full of hygiene products, paper products, baby care items and several tons of clothes. Two truckloads have been sent to a hurricane shelter in Kennett, Mo., and a semi-trailer truckload of diapers was sent to Mississippi.

About 200 hurricane refugees are staying in Baptist association camps in Benton, Mo., and Kennett, Mo. About 70 requests for help from families and individuals scattered throughout Southeast Missouri scattered have been received at the Red Cross office.

While the response has been overwhelming, Thomas said campaigns might be initiated in the future to remind people that donations will still be needed.

"We want people to keep it fresh on their mind that there are people in need and that it will take years to help them," he said. Several displaced families will likely settle in Southeast Missouri for months or permanently.

"These people are going to need homes very soon, and finding suitable housing will be a very real issue in the future," he said.

The Area Wide United Way is preparing to help meet those needs as soon as initial relief efforts pull out.

"We are not collecting any money," said Nancy Jernigan, executive director of the Area Wide United Way. "We are referring all people to the Salvation Army and Red Cross."

Last year, 3 percent of collections were set aside for funding local disaster relief, Jernigan said, and the board released the funds to aid in local hurricane relief. The United Way is accepting and placing volunteers into positions with the Red Cross and Salvation Army. Requests for volunteers include those who specialize in data entry and case management along with sorting and packaging supplies.

AmerenUE has sent 130 employees to areas around New Orleans, said manager Jean Mason. The company also released 200 Missouri contractors, most of them from Southeast Missouri, to hurricane-affected areas. Currently, 11 linemen from the SEMO division are stationed near New Orleans. Within the next two weeks, Ameren officials plan to start a rotation that sends 11 linemen from Southeast Missouri to the Gulf Coast about every two weeks, Mason said. Some of the rotations will include linemen from Cape Girardeau County.

Saint. Francis Medical Center and Southeast Missouri Hospital submitted a list of physicians, nurses and therapists who wish to volunteer to the Missouri Hospital Association, hospital officials said. As needs arise over the next few weeks, the association will call volunteers to go into Louisiana and Mississippi.

jmetelski@semissourian.com