SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES GIFT DEADLINE EXTENDED UNTIL DECEMBER 31, 2002

To ensure that all those eligible have sufficient time to apply for the Special Circumstances Gift, the American Red Cross has extended the application deadline from September 30, 2002 to December 31, 2002.

The Special Circumstances Gift provides financial assistance to those who were financially dependent on the deceased, including extended and nontraditional family members, and to the seriously injured. Families and individuals who were eligible and have applied for the third Family Gift* are also eligible to apply for the Special Circumstances Gift. Informational materials and application packets have already been mailed to all known possibly eligible parties.

This new deadline will allow Red Cross to review all applications received by January 2003. This includes applications that were submitted prior to September 30, 2002.

If you have any questions regarding the Special Circumstances Gift Program, please contact your Family Support Specialist. If you have not been assigned a Family Support Specialist, please call the American Red Cross September 11 Recovery Program Client Assistance Call Center at 1-877-746-4987 or send an e-mail to FGP3@usa.redcross.org.

Family Gift Program* The American Red Cross Family Gift Program provides up to one year of needs-based financial assistance to family members who were financially interdependent with or dependent upon those who were deceased or seriously injured as a result of the September 11 attacks. To be eligible, those who were physically injured must have been hospitalized for a minimum of 24 hours during the week of September 11 through September 18, 2001. The third and final payment of the Family Gift will ensure that all eligible households who participated in the first two phases of the Gift, but are still unable to meet their essential living expenses, will receive a total of one year of assistance.

Supplemental Gift Program** The Red Cross is distributing flat $45,000 payments to the verified executors, administrators, or other personal representatives of the estates of the deceased as well as to those who suffered a serious verifiable physical injury. To be eligible, the injury must have required hospitalization for a minimum of 24 hours during the week of September 11 through September 18, 2001 and resulted in a disability from those injuries. The Red Cross will distribute these payments to each estate and to each person who was physically injured and experienced a continuous 90-day period of disability. Red Cross has mailed eligible beneficiaries informational materials and an application to complete, where appropriate.