NYPost

REFUNDS AVAILABLE IF YOU WANT THEM

November 11, 2001 -- The Red Cross is offering to refund money to donors seeing red over the charity's spending decisions.

"We don't want to keep funds from people who contributed with one thing in mind and find that it's being spent on another thing," said Dolores Swirin, chief of fund-raising for the Greater New York chapter.

Some 3,000 people have called and e-mailed the American Red Cross in the last 10 days, demanding explanations of how the half-billion dollars raised by the charity after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are being spent, said spokesman Bill Blaul.

Swirin tells local callers that the Red Cross is helping workers at ground zero, evacuated residents, people who lost jobs or income, and others seeking counseling.

Some funds will be held for "long-term needs," some to pay the charity's expenses, and some will be reserved for "future attacks," she said.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2001