You can trust your donation to the Red Cross is going to help people in need

 

Teddy McKay works in the world of radio rock and roll; in 2008 he was working at a Portland, Maine radio station and was on the air when he received a call from his neighbor.

She and her husband lived near Teddy, and her husband worked in local law enforcement; she was in the habit of leaving their police scanner on in the background as she worked around the house. On this day a dispatch caught her attention when she recognized the address. Teddy’s house was on fire.

He hung up the phone from talking with her and jumped in his car to drive the 45 minutes it took to reach his house; when he arrived the only thing left was a smoking foundation. He describes that moment as “surreal” and wasn’t sure what to do next.

What seemed like minutes later he became aware of a small pick-up truck arriving and an older gentleman wearing a Red Cross vest getting out of it and walking towards him. The man spoke quietly and told Teddy that he worked with the Red Cross and was there to help him. He took out some papers and asked Teddy to sign them and handed him some cash that he said was for any essentials that Teddy needed right away.

Although his memory is a little vague in the aftermath of such a life-changing experience he remembers thanking the man and making his first two purchases—a toothbrush and a cellphone charger—so he could connect with his family and insurance company.

The radio station that Teddy worked for at that time was an active supporter of Red Cross blood collection and he was a regular blood donor but, prior to losing his home, Teddy was not aware of the full range of humanitarian and disaster services offered by the American Red Cross.

“I can’t say enough about the Red Cross; I was already a blood donor and understood how important it was to donate regularly but losing my home opened my eyes,” says Teddy. “Reaching out to the Red Cross is the first reaction to a personal disaster and the answer to much larger natural disasters. You can trust that your donation is going to help people in need; people like me.”