Countywide : Quake Fund-Raising Surpasses $300,000

The county’s fund-raising efforts for Mexico’s earthquake victims has topped the $300,000 mark, according to the American Red Cross.

Red Cross spokesman Drew McClelland said the smallest daily amount of cash received by the organization since the earthquake struck Sept. 19 was $9,000 and that the largest was about $32,000. He said he fields “four or five” phone calls a day from groups that want to hold fund raisers. “It doesn’t seem to have slowed down,” he said.

The United Way of Orange County gave the largest single donation--$100,000. Other contributions include $9,500 raised at a downtown Santa Ana dance Oct. 4, $1,000 from Loara High School students and $500 raised by employees in the county assessor’s office. While some small amounts have been sent in, McClelland said the majority are for $50 or more.

The Red Cross will use the money to finance a “five-point plan” for the earthquake victims, he said. The plan calls for:

The establishment of aid centers for children and the elderly.

Assistance for emergency Red Cross hospitals set up in the towns of Cuidad Guzman and Lazara Cardenas.

Assistance for amputees.

Completion of a Red Cross radio network to ensure communication links in other emergencies.

Development of a “tracing network” to help people in the United States find out about their relatives.