Kuwait and Kuwait Red Crescent Donate to American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort

WASHINGTON, Friday, February 24, 2006 — In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, the State of Kuwait and the Kuwait Red Crescent Society presented a donation to the American Red Cross for $25 million to support hurricane relief and recovery efforts. The donation was presented by Dr. Hilal Al-Sayer, Vice President of the Kuwait Red Crescent Society, and Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Sabah, Ambassador of the State of Kuwait, to Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, Chairman, and Jack McGuire, President and CEO of the American Red Cross. This is the largest current and recorded single donation received by the American Red Cross and is the second contribution from the Kuwait Red Crescent. The first donation of $2.7 million was received November 2005.

“On behalf of the American Red Cross and all those we serve, I extend my sincere gratitude to the Kuwait Red Crescent for their very generous donation,” said McElveen-Hunter, “We appreciate this extraordinary demonstration of care and compassion for the United States and for the communities affected by Hurricane Katrina.”

“We are proud to be able to offer our support to the American Red Cross and the American people to help them through this challenging time,” said Al-Sayer.

“Hurricane Katrina was a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions,” said al-Sabah. “We are pleased to help the American Red Cross provide relief to the affected communities.”

The outpouring of support from around the world enabled more than 225,000 Red Cross disaster relief workers—95 percent of whom were volunteers—to ensure that more than 4 million survivors had a safe place to stay, food, comfort and the means to provide essential items for themselves and their families. Survivors received counseling, basic healthcare and family connecting services. These services were provided through the hard work and dedication of Red Cross volunteers and employees from all 50 states who responded to the 2005 hurricanes on an unprecedented scale.

The Red Cross has provided:

• More than 3.5 million overnight stays in nearly 1,200 Red Cross shelters
• More than 34 million meals and 30 million snacks
• Emergency financial assistance to more than 1.4 million families—more than 4 million people

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Midwest ice storms, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.