Before he left New York, Rieckenberg finally was able to look up from his post, leave the relief operation center in Manhattan and get out to see Sandys destruction for himself. Stop right there, a Red Cross executive from headquarters responded. Theodoric Meyer contributed reporting. WebDescription. Scheifele documented the incident at the time in a memo for the record.. Suite 310 Among the multiple systems that failed was the charitys tracking of its emergency response vehicles. The Red Cross maintains that the Spirit of America was reopened to serve the community, not for donors. Didnt Lady Gaga just donate a million dollars to you guys? she asked the Red Cross staffer. Tim Hagey, manager of a local water utility, recalls how he used to assure people that the local public water was safe. SOMEONE SHOULD PUT THIS GUY AND HIS CRONIES OUT OF BUSINESS. The focus on public relations persisted throughout the Sandy operation. PR nightmare You cant do that, bemoaned one top Red Cross official who was on the scene in New York. The Red Cross would have been helpful if it had offered food, water, shelter, cleaning supplies, blankets, says Rich Wieland, whose house in Toms River, New Jersey was flooded and whose neighborhood lost power for 16 days. The Red Cross says Klum was delivering supplies to families. I dont donate to the Red Cross. CNN 1900 Crown Colony Drive Every He writes a regular column for the New York Timess Dealbook section. Americans did what they so often do after disasters. Congress forced an overhaul. I cant afford to have my ERVs sitting around all morning, Ade said. The Spirit of America had recently been shut down, as the need for meals was tapering off. PFAS have been in production since the 1940s, and there are about 3,500 different types. I think I will just cash the check. In early November, the Red Cross had a limited number of emergency response vehicles, or ERVs, active in the New York City area. His first contact with the charity came two months after the storm when Red Cross workers finally called to offer aid. We are constantly evolving our procedures to better identify dishonest information," it said. Bringing volunteers from places like Kansas and North Carolina to New York City, in some cases for the first time, led to problems. Web Clients include small private landlords to major national property companies and managing agents, as well as those in the public sector. Top Red Cross executives were furious. That was before testing showed it had some of the highest levels of the toxic compounds of any public water system in the U.S. "You all made me out to be a liar," Hagey, general water and sewer manager in the eastern Pennsylvania town of Warminster, told Environmental Protection Agency officials at a hearing last month. As a reservist, Rieckenberg was paid small sums for responding to disasters. Seven PR nightmares youll never believe happened by Ronn Torossian | Jun 25, 2019 | Analysis, Public Relations Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Public relations is supposed to be a means of managing the spread of information between an organization or an individual and the public. But law enforcement officials found VietNow used only applied 0.2 percentof its donations to directly helpveterans, officials said. "Otherwise it's the game of whack-a-mole," she said. WebFrom fighting for veterans benefits on Capitol Hill, to financial grants, transition support and educational scholarships, we're there to ensure current and former service members HORSHAM, Pa. Lauren Woeher wonders if her 16-month-old daughter has been harmed by tap water contaminated with toxic industrial compounds used in products like nonstick cookware, carpets, firefighting foam and fast-food wrappers. The skincare company Nivea took some heat on social media after it debuted an ad featuring the phrase "white is purity," which some accused of supporting white supremacy. by Justin Elliott and Jesse Eisinger, ProPublica, and Laura Sullivan, NPR, (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post via Getty Images), (Catherine Barde/American Red Cross via Flickr), (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for AOL), (Jason Colston/American Red Cross via Flickr), caliber of the people is a major issue (this is not a training issue). WebAnd thats just the official number. We were pushing every resource we had to its maximum capability, Riggen, the Red Cross executive, said when asked about the episode. The groups self-assessments, drawn together just weeks later, were far less congratulatory. From approximately January 2009 through June 2014, TANNER used nearly $800,000 in NVSF funds to pay various personal expenses for her and her family members. The vehicles had been sent to Staten Island at the request of the borough president to address needs in that area, the charity says. The overall Red Cross operation after Isaac was beset by problems. The National Veterans Foundation is a one-stop resource for veterans looking for assistance. Our resource page includes links information and help with crises, navigating VA services, jobs, housing, and more. Our veteran counselors are also standing by 9-5 PT, Monday through Friday to assist you with any help you might need. Veteran's Service Bookkeeper Sentenced to 2 Years for Stealing "And yet there are instances in which we have to be careful.". Within minutes of Pepsi unveiling a new ad starring Kendall Jenner, social media users almost unanimously came down against it, calling the protest-themed commercial tone deaf and opportunistic. In Mississippi we were unable to open a single shelter with proper staff, materials and food resources prior to landfall, Rieckenberg wrote. She was also ordered to pay full restitution to the fund, as well as back taxes, interest and penalties. I almost sent a donation, thinking I might have a shot at that million-dollar sweepstakes. The Red Cross "divert[ed] assets for public relations purposes," says one internal report. Seven PR nightmares youll never believe happened Veterans Amid increasing public outcry, the company eventually vowed to stop donating to anti-LGBT causes. Officers nominated by the national president and The Red Cross says it has cultivated a culture of openness that welcomes frank self-evaluation and says it has improved its ability to handle urban disasters. State lawmakers complained of "a lack of urgency and incompetency" on the part of EPA. Americans are grateful for the sacrifices made by those who serve in the U.S. armed forces, Simons said in a statement announcing the initiative. Phone: 203-744-0100 The meeting drew residents and officials from Horsham and other affected towns in eastern Pennsylvania, and officials from some of the other dozens of states dealing with the same contaminants. Charity Check: National Veterans Services Fund | The Scoop "I don't know that we've done the science yet to really provide any strong guidance" on risks of the kinds of PFAS that U.S. companies are using now, said Andrew Gillespie, associate director at the EPA's National Exposure Research Laboratory. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. He says he refused, telling his superiors that if anyone should be let go, it should be him, since he was in charge. The chemical industry says it believes the versions of the nonstick, stain-resistant compounds in use now are safe, in part because they don't stay in the body as long as older versions. 1 Available by prescription only, its also the first and only digital therapeutic developed specifically to treat nightmares that is cleared by the FDA. But McGoverns moves alienated many longtime volunteers and reservists, current and former Red Cross officials say. "If the risk appears to be high, and you've got it every place, then you've got a different level" of danger and urgency, Clough said. "Your $10 gift will mean so much to a disabled veteran., However, Help the Vets, which touteda "Gold" rating from GuideStar, primarily helped itself, using 95 percent of every donation, gathered through mailings and telemarketing calls,to cover fundraising, administrative expensesand Paulsons salary and benefits, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The Red Cross recruited McGovern to the top job in 2008. Veterans of America also operatedunder the names Vehicles for Veterans LLC, Saving Our Soldiers, Donate Your Car, Donate That Car LLC, Act of Valorand Medal of Honor, the FTC says. TANNER was arrested on related state charges on June 2, 2014. In Horsham and surrounding towns in eastern Pennsylvania, and at other sites around the United States, the foams once used routinely in firefighting training at military bases contained PFAS. Using private solicitors is enticing for charities, Borochoff said, because it's easy money. Given the findings on the compounds, alarm bells "should be ringing four out of five" at the EPA, Kerrigan Clough, a former deputy regional EPA administrator, said in an interview with the AP as he waited for a test for PFAS in the water at his Michigan lake home, which is near a military base that used firefighting foam. While contamination of drinking water around military bases and factories gets most of the attention, the EPA says 80 percent of human exposure comes from consumer products in the home. Thank you for the low-down on this organization. During the Sandy disaster, some government officials came to resent the Red Cross. The cost to the Red Cross: about $7 apiece, much more than normal. Don't let anything ruin it.". Sometimes, even when supplies were plentiful, they went to waste. They consumed all their available time and went home, says Bob Scheifele, who served as mass care chief in Louisiana. From a broad perspective I completely agree with you, Trevor Riggen, the top Red Cross disaster response official, replied that same day. Recovering from a PR nightmare: 11 steps brands - Agility PR Reviews of the data, and studies to gather more, are ongoing. Your generosity sees to it that VFW Service Officers are available free of charge to any veteran in need of help. Justin Elliott has been a reporter with ProPublica since 2012, covering politics with a focus on money and influence. We all want to help these heroes," he said, speaking at the FTC event. Donations of vehicles and boats amounted to about $454,000. While its impossible to meet every need in the first chaotic hours and days of a disaster, we are proud that we were able to provide millions of people with hot meals, shelter, relief supplies and financial support during the 2012 hurricanes, the charity wrote in a statement to ProPublica and NPR. A seat was reserved for the Red Cross, the most important nongovernment responder. In one previously unreported incident that became instantly notorious among Sandy responders, the Red Cross brought a truck full of pork lunches to a Jewish retirement high-rise. In one shelter, sex offenders were all over including playing in childrens area because Red Cross staff didnt know/follow procedures.. It was the first time in Rieckenbergs experience that people in charge of disaster relief didnt have the final say over where Red Cross volunteers were sent. Weve written about the National Veterans Services Fund before. In addition to targeting filing complaints against fraudulent charities, the FTC has launched aneducation campaign to help consumers make sure they are donating to legitimate charities. Richard Rieckenberg, who oversaw aspects of the Red Cross efforts to provide food, shelter and supplies after the 2012 storms, said the organizations work was repeatedly undercut by its leadership. In January, Eiger sent an objection letter to YouTuber Dian Widianarko, requesting him to take down a product review of one of the companys products. In 2015, Starbucks had its own PR disaster with its "race together" campaign, which sought to help heal race relations in America through coffee cup stickers, and not much else. In early November, headquarters issued an edict that the New York operation needed to start producing more meals. Officials at the Red Cross national headquarters stood firm over Rieckenbergs objections. Quincy, MA 02169 In the process, they harm not only well-meaning donors, but also the many legitimate charities that actually do great work on behalf of veterans and service members., GuideStar, which gives charities ratings based on how much information they publicly disclose in their profile on the service, said in a statement Thursday:"As we learned today, the information this organization provided not just to the IRS but also to GuideStar was fraudulent. This bureaucratic nightmare, meanwhile, produced long lines for basic necessities such as water, and victims experienced on average 43-day wait times for the Red Cross to process requests for aid. All rights reserved, Southington Drive-In Announces Summer Movie Schedule, Police Identify Man Found Dead on Side of the Road in Watertown, 7 Bodies Found During Search for Missing Oklahoma Teens, Bride Killed and Groom Injured by Speeding DUI Driver After Wedding in South Carolina, Police Say, NBC & Telemundo Connecticut Job Opportunities. 11 Companies That Created Their Own PR Nightmares On December 15, 2015, she pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion. Problems with PFAS surfaced partly as a result of a 1999 lawsuit by a farmer who filmed his cattle staggering, frothing and dying in a field near a DuPont disposal site in Parkersburg, West Virginia, for PFAS then used in Teflon. Peter ORourke, acting secretary for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, commended the FTC and officials. But according to the National Hurricane Center, at least five days before Isaac made landfall it was clear the storm would not hit Tampa. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. One reform, the Red Cross says, moved nearly one-third of its disaster positions out of national headquarters and into the field, closer to the victims. "No one wants to say no to a charity that is purportedly supporting veterans. The executives asked Rieckenberg and Scheifele to be patient, promising reforms. About 460 mass care volunteer workers 90 percent of the workers the organization dispatched to provide food and shelter for the storm overall were stationed in Tampa ahead of landfall, Rieckenbergs emailsfrom the time say. She started working in the Rockaways a couple of days after the storm hit and stayed for 10 months. A federal judge issueda temporary restraining order last week prohibiting the group from making unlawful robocalls while the FTC's complaint proceeds. Red Cross volunteers had to distribute cold leftover Danishes instead. But while its fundraising was torrential, its disaster response was a trickle. District of Connecticut Youve got a 75-year-old emergency response vehicle driver whos got to go up 17 stories to feed a 75-year-old disaster victim. National Veterans Services Fund - NORD (National While an aerial photographer was taking pictures of the California coastline (ProPublica has raised questions about the opacity of Red Cross disclosures on how this money was spent.). The Red Cross knows what theyre doing, he said. Relief workers for other groups often found the Red Cross efforts ineffectual and at times even absurdist, says Sofa Gallis Muriente, a volunteer for the relief group Occupy Sandy. Please note that NORD provides this information for the benefit of the rare disease community. Are walking blood banks coming to a field hospital near you? EPA says it will prepare a national management plan for the compounds by the end of the year. With the accompanying photo of a man looking at a distracted woman, some accused the ad of contributing rape culture by encouraging people to shirk consent. I was quite bluntly told that they didnt care it was the plan that was going to make the ARC [American Red Cross] look the best to the local politicians, he wrote. Rieckenberg emailed his superior at national headquarters on Sept. 12, 2012, to sound the alarm. If you have information about the Red Cross, email [emailprotected]. The Red Cross marshalled an army of volunteers, but many were misdirected by the charitys managers. Phone: 202-588-5700. In keeping with a carefully established plan, representatives from government agencies and charities gather there to coordinate, share information and respond to crises 24 hours a day. An internal Lessons Learned PowerPoint presentation lists hindrances to service delivery. Its first bullet point: NHQ national headquarters. In one case, the Red Cross had to throw out tens of thousands of meals because it couldnt find the people who needed them. The charity was not good at scaling up to the size of the disaster, said the official in charge of the Red Cross disaster response in New York, according to the minutes of the December 2012 meeting to assess the charitys performance. Connecticut Financial Center The national veterans service fund public relations pr nightmare "It absolutely disgusts me that the federal government would put PR concerns ahead of public health concerns," Republican state Rep. Todd Stephens declared. When McGovern took the reins, she inherited a sprawling operation with hundreds of chapters across the country. Fax: 203-263-9938, Washington, DC Office The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. Florida releases 4 prohibited math textbook examples. The stated mission of the NVSF was to provide case managed social services and limited medical assistance to Vietnam and Persian Gulf War veterans and their families, with a focus on families with disabled children. "I know that you can't bring back three people that I lost," Betz, a retired airman, told the federal officials at the Horsham meeting. VFW recovered more than $10 billion in compensation in pension on behalf of more than 550,000 veterans and eligible family members in fiscal year 2021. In Horsham and surrounding towns in eastern Pennsylvania, and at other sites around the United States, the foams once used routinely in firefighting training at military bases contained per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The charity, which took in about $20 million from 2014 to 2017, must pay its remaining assets, at least $72,122.36 to one or more court-approved legitimate veterans charities. Some veterans charities wrought with issues - Darien Times Hosting in Qatar is where FIFA s PR issues began, and they grew substantially Turnover and reorganizations appear to have had a corrosive effect on the Red Cross effectiveness. The decision-makers in an organization make a bad decision and then after it becomes public, the organization desperately seeks to ignore the obvious. According to court documents and statements made in court, TANNER was employed as a bookkeeper for the National Veterans Service Fund (NVSF) located in Darien. Veterans Washington became the first state to ban any firefighting foam with the compound. "Indeed, it was a front for the defendant who sold those cars, boats and real estate and then used the money to line his own pockets and fund even more robocalls," Simons said. While often praised as a stabilizing presence by those outside the Red Cross, McGovern initiated a series of changes inside the organization that roiled the venerable charity. That was incredibly demoralizing.. As the Red Cross internal documents note, the challenges of urban disaster response include physically grueling tasks such as walking up stairs in high rises to get to people in need.
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