Tuesday, March 02, 2010 — The American Red Cross is responding to the strong 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile, increasing the initial pledge to $250,000 from its International Response Fund for relief operations.
In addition, following a request for assistance for Chile, the American Red Cross is now accepting donations specifically for response and recovery in Chile. This includes Chile-designated donations through www.redcross.org, through calls to 1-800-REDCROSS, and by texting “Chile” to 90999. People can also call 1-800-257-7575 to make a donation in Spanish.
The International Federation of the Red Cross on Tuesday made preliminary emergency appeal of $6.4 million to all Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in order to assist the Chilean Red Cross. The American Red Cross is accepting donations in response to this appeal.
“Our hearts go out to the people of Chile as they cope with the immediate aftermath of this earthquake and the continuing aftershocks,” says David Meltzer, senior vice president of international services with the American Red Cross. “Thanks to the generosity of the American people who previously donated to our International Relief Fund, we’ve been able to release an initial pledge to help the Chilean people in their hour of need and we stand ready to provide additional assistance.”
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