CYPRESS : Mitsubishi Gives 25 TV Sets to Red Cross

Mitsubishi Electric America Inc. is donating 25 television sets and carrying cases to the Orange County chapter of the American Red Cross for use at shelters if there is a natural disaster, officials announced this week.

The company is donating televisions nationwide to chapters of the Red Cross, according to Takashi Kiuchi, Mitsubishi chairman and chief executive officer. The television sets, carried in aluminum storage and shipping crates, will be delivered to temporary shelters after natural disasters for victims to use upon request by Red Cross chapters.

“When one is in a natural disaster, all your choices are taken away,” said Kara Lakkees, public affairs spokeswoman for the Red Cross. “When you provide a television for a shelter, what you are doing is re-establishing a sense of normalcy.”

The news on television also helps people see what is going on in other areas affected by the disaster and controls rumors, she added.

The television sets, which are worth $629 each, will have a second audio program capability for transmitting Spanish audio broadcasts.

Officials at Mitsubishi and the Red Cross said the program is meant to encourage awareness of advance preparation for disasters.