Countywide : Businesses Respond to Relief Efforts

Jim Hayton knew that his plan to help victims of the Bay Area earthquake was modest, but he didn’t mean for it to be this modest.

“It’s a little depressing,” said the owner of the Car Wash in Dana Point, who planned to donate Tuesday’s receipts, usually about $1,500, to the relief effort. But despite extended business hours, he raised only $600.

He says that at $3.50 per car wash, he knew what he was doing was “only a gesture. It’s the least I can do.”

Hayton is one of several business owners throughout Orange County who had the same idea.

In Huntington Beach, officials of Data Clean Corp. pledge to donate an unspecified portion of the profit for the remaining calender year to the Red Cross for the earthquake victims.

“It should be a sizable contribution, but whether it’ll be a thousand (dollars) or a number of thousands, we don’t know yet,” said Edward Ryan, vice president of marketing for the company, which specializes in repairing data systems after catastrophes such as fires, floods or earthquakes. “Hopefully, a number of people will get on the bandwagon.”

The Orange County chapter of the American Red Cross estimates that local businesses and corporations--from Bank of America to Costa Mesa city employees--have donated $330,000 during the past week for earthquake aid.

Rex Chandler, a Newport Beach restaurant owner and Red Cross board member, said the Red Cross has been short of funds since Hurricane Hugo and was already expecting about $350,000 in donations from the county to help replenish those funds before last week’s temblor rocked Northern California.

That need prompted Chandler into action. He has designated Nov. 4 as “For the Red Cross,” donating 10% of the receipts from his restaurants to the American Red Cross, and he has urged fellow restaurateurs to do the same.

“The motive was just the tragedy itself,” said Chandler, who has sent 350 notices to restaurant owners in Orange County and additional letters to about 15 chapters of the California Restaurant Assn. “When it comes to the Red Cross, people take it for granted. . . . The Red Cross can’t afford to do it. We’re broke.”

Chandler estimated that his two restaurants could raise about $1,500 on Saturday for the Red Cross.

Doug Kavanaugh, owner of five Ruby’s restaurants, received his letter today. And he knew without a doubt that he would participate.

“I thought, ‘What about those poor people who have restaurants?’ Those guys would sure pull together for us,” said Kavanaugh, 33. “It’s our small way to try to help. . . . Hopefully, it’s something we can do to help pump them back up.”