Thursday

With the help of a pilot who donated his time, fuel, money, and plane, Lindsey Scott delivered 400 hot hamburgers to a group of evacuees who were tired and hungry after losing their homes to what has been dubbed the most devastating tropical storm in U.S. history.

The meal she provided was much-needed by the victims of Hurricane Harvey, but Lindsey, who is from Southeast Texas, the region hit hardest, was so “astonished” by the treatment she received from Red Cross workers that she took to Facebook to share her story.

Hurricane Harvey has left more than one million people displaced and without basic necessities like food and water. One woman decided to bring 400 burgers to evacuees who were starving.

But when she arrived at the airport where they were hunkering down, she was met by workers from the Red Cross who had a negative response to her kindness.

“I’m astonished at the behavior of the Red Cross husband/wife team at the mid-county Jack Brooks airport yesterday,” Lindsey wrote on Facebook. She said the workers “accosted” her and “took turns berating me because I was trying to bring 400 warm hamburgers to our hungry evacuees, who according to them did not need the food because they had ‘already had a sandwich.” Lindsey continued, “Yes, they had 1 sandwich in 24 hours. They were desperate for a hot meal!”

Unfortunately, things only got worse. “The Red Cross proceeded to try and load the warm, ready to eat burgers into an ice chest. The pilot, who had donated his time, fuel, money, plane and arranged the delivery of the burgers was horrified at not being able to serve them (he actually came to volunteer as well),” she added.


Lindsey was taken aback by an organization like the Red Cross rudely turning away such a generous donation, and she had no idea how to respond. “I confess I just stood there with my mouth gaping open, fighting back tears while they told me that I did not know what I was doing and they had not even seen me volunteering,” she wrote.


“The Red Cross was not there at 6:30 am when we got there to find we had no food to serve the 100s of evacuees who had sat on a bus all night and some who had not eaten in 24 hours,” added Lindsey. “They were not there when the sun came up and [the evacuees] woke up hungry, angry, tired, scared, and frustrated. They did not see them fighting over donuts that OUR friends and family answered the call to bring at 7:00 am. They did not see the tears over dehydrated babies while we worked to arrange the delivery of Pedialyte and formula,” she wrote.

“They showed up HOURS later,” Lindsey went on, “when we had already coordinated the delivery of food and supplies with our LOCAL community members (who came out in droves) and The Sky Hope Network through our wonderful State Representative Dade Phelan after just a single phone call. And the reason they didn’t see me (sweating and sunburned) is because I spent most of the day on the aviation side of the airport on the tarmac coordinating the landing, unloading, and transport of supplies the Sky Hope Network was flying in all day,” she wrote.


“I do not care they weren’t there (I understand the vast, severe, damage that ranges from Corpus, Rockport, Houston all the way to Louisiana). I do, however, care how they treated the people of our community when they arrived!” an exasperated Lindsey explained.


“These supplies/donations were made by OUR LOCAL community members and the Sky Hope Network (not the Red Cross) and the Red Cross wanted them all shipped to their warehouse for processing and distribution,” wrote Lindsey. “Apparently they don’t do ‘local distribution.’ Say what?! We need these things here, locally, NOW,” she added.
Source

Responses to "Red Cross refuses food supplies that a woman brings for starving Hurricane victims"

  1. Alison says:

    Been reading lately some not so great reports about the Red Cross, but this is just unacceptable! There's no excuse for that kind of attitude.

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