Charities urge cash for storm-hit

OKLAHOMA CITY - Donations are pouring into Oklahoma as people around the country look to help residents affected by last week’s violent tornado outbreak, but charities also are receiving plenty of items they don’t need: tons of used clothes, shoes and stuffed animals that take up valuable warehouse space and clog distribution networks.

Charity organizers say monetary donations are far more flexible and useful, and many organizations were expected to see an infusion of cash donations after a benefit concert Wednesday night in Oklahoma City featuring country-music stars with Oklahoma ties, including Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Vince Gill and Reba McEntire.

At the Abundant Life Church in Moore, just a few blocks from Plaza Towers Elementary School where seven children died in the May 20 tornado, Sunday School classrooms are overflowing with donated clothes and other used items.

“I don’t want to come across at all like we don’t appreciate people’s generosity, because we do,” said Norma Clanton, a longtime church member who is helping coordinate volunteer efforts at the church. “To be honest, we’ve had very few people that have even come and looked at clothes.”

The American Red Cross said it’s not equipped to handle a large influx of donations like household items - which take time and money to sort, process and transport. Officials with major relief organizations encourage people to send monetary donations instead.

“We spend that money locally to help energize the local economy … and it allows us to spend it on items we need,” said Salvation Army spokesman Jennifer Dodd.

Organizations helping displaced residents are expected to see an influx of cash from the “Healing in the Heartland: Relief Benefit Concert” at Chesapeake Energy Arena in downtown Oklahoma City that was held Wednesday. The money goes directly to the United Way of Central Oklahoma, which will distribute funding agencies helping in relief and recovery efforts for those affected by the May 20 tornado, said Karla Bradshaw, a spokesman for the United Way of Central Oklahoma.

People who lined up outside the arena in heavy rain before the telethon said they were happy to have an opportunity to help their neighbors and enjoy a night of country music.

“I told my husband I wanted to help, and what better way than to do something fun, too,” said 29-year-old Kara McCarthy of Oklahoma City, who attended the concert with a friend. Shelton, a native of Ada, kicked off the concert with a version of his song “God Gave Me You.”

The televised event also included recorded video pleas from Oklahoma native Garth Brooks and his wife, Trisha Yearwood, Moore native Toby Keith, Ellen Degeneres and Jay Leno.

Meanwhile, a tornado watch was in place until 11 p.m. Wednesday for central sections of Oklahoma and until 10 p.m. for the western third of the state and parts of the Oklahoma Panhandle.

The National Weather Service said severe thunderstorms were likely through midnight and could produce baseball-size hail and wind gusts of up to 70 mph with tornadoes possible.

Donations have poured into Oklahoma since two major tornadoes ripped through the state last week, killing 26 people and affecting nearly 4,000 homes, businesses and other buildings in five counties. Twenty-four people were killed in the May 20 tornado that hit the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore.

The Salvation Army reported Tuesday afternoon that it already had raised more than $5 million in monetary donations, as well as in-kind food donations from numerous corporations.

In just the first three days after the tornado hit Moore, the Red Cross reported raising about $15 million in donations and pledges for its response to the Oklahoma tornadoes, including about $3.8 million in pledges from text donations.

Ken Sterns, who spent years researching the best and most effective charities for his book, With Charity for All, said donating to reputable, well-established charities also helps victims of the next disaster.

“I think most charity experts recommend giving cash donations, but I also tell people that in fact the most valuable contributions are not the contributions made after the fact, but contributions that allow charities, especially disaster-relief organizations, to prepare for helping the victims of the next disaster,” Sterns said. “We don’t know who they are. We don’t have a face on them. But we know they are coming.”