Ozarkers still giving to local charities

“We haven’t seen that (much) of a dip from Katrina or Rita,” said Donna Jones, director of development for the Council of Churches of the Ozarks.

“I think people’s giving isn’t limited and it isn’t competitive, because if they really believe in our cause, they really will find a way to give.”

Convoy of Hope, a Springfield-based disaster relief and humanitarian aid group, has sent 442 truckloads, totaling about 18 million pounds of relief supplies, to the hurricane-ravaged areas as of Sept. 27.

Even with that level of support for other communities, Convoy corporate relations director Rob Clay said he hasn’t heard of charities that cater to local people getting the short end of the stick.

However, he said, many charities did suffer following last year’s tsunami in Asia and the terrorist attacks on American soil in September 2001.

“When major disasters like that occur,” Clay said, “people’s values change in terms of what they give to. That’s where the local organizations, oftentimes, are going to feel the hit.”

Council of Churches’ Jones said that charities need to be more vocal about their mission and needs when high profile disasters hit.

“What we, as nonprofits, have to do is to really state our case,” she said, “because that’s the power of what we do.”

Shirley McDonald, community relations director for the Salvation Army, said her organization is suffering, but couldn’t attribute it to the hurricanes.

“Our food pantry is almost completely depleted,” McDonald said, “so I’m putting out an urgent plea for food for our food pantry.”

Donna Riehm, the caseworker in charge of the Salvation Army’s food pantry, said the shortage is due to a combination of two factors unrelated to the hurricanes.

She said the Salvation Army is assisting about 15 percent more families this year, and donations from an annual food drive held in May netted 7,000 fewer pounds of food.

“I don’t think that (the hurricanes) have affected us,” Riehm said.

Rhoda Clark, director of development for the YMCA corporate association, said her group’s child sports and after-school programs are as healthy as ever.

“I have found that our donors in our community are really generous and I’m sure that they’re digging deeper in their pockets,” Clark said. “I haven’t really noticed that (the hurricanes) impacted us a lot.”