Countywide : Red Cross Receives $123,181 in Flood Aid

Five corporations in Orange County donated more than $100,000 in the past month to help with California flood relief efforts, American Red Cross officials announced this week.

The funds, totaling $104,500, account for more than four-fifths of the donations to the Orange County chapter of the Red Cross in that period, spokeswoman Kara Lakkees said.

JC Penney turned in the largest donation, giving $60,000 to the chapter. Other contributors include the United Way of Orange County, $25,000; Wells Fargo Bank, $10,000; Fluor Corp., $5,000, and PacifiCare Foundation, $4,500.

Individual and corporate donations total $123,181, Lakkees said.

She said that while the chapter has received “a lot of individual donations” in response to the flood, it is not unusual for funds from corporations to dwarf individual contributions.

“Individuals can’t afford a $10,000 donation,” Lakkees said.

The funds come in response to January rains that pummeled the county and the rest of California. And because February is also considered a rainy month, she said, the Red Cross is worried that more flooding could occur.

“If it starts to flood again, the operation is not over,” she said.

The California Red Cross chapters are trying to raise a total of $2.7 million to help flood victims, Lakkees said. Of that, the county chapter has a goal of $175,000.