Commemorative photo sale yields $20K for Red Cross
Greater Media Newspapers, readers join in assisting

Greater Media Newspapers publisher Kevin Wittman (r) presented a check for $20,000 last week to American Red Cross representative James Mazzacco. The money, raised from the sale of commemorative 8-by-10-inch photos of the World Trade Center’s twin towers, will benefit families affected by the Sept. 11 attacks.

victims of Sept. 11 attacks

By Adele Young

Staff Writer

Greater Media Newspapers presented the American Red Cross with a check for $20,000 last week, the net proceeds from the sale of two commemorative photos of the World Trade Center’s twin towers as they looked before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Kevin Wittman, publisher of the weekly newspaper group which circulates in Monmouth, Middlesex and Ocean counties, presented the check to James Mazzacco, donor development specialist for the Jersey Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross, Tinton Falls.

Wittman explained that after the attacks, Greater Media Newspapers, like so many other groups and individuals, wanted to do something to benefit the victims’ families and the public as well.

"Just writing a check was not enough," Wittman said, noting that three Greater Media employees lost family members in the attack. "We wanted to let the people participate; we wanted to do something to bring the community together."

The response was much larger than anyone had expected.

"Some people bought multiple copies for their family members and relatives," said Greg Bean, executive editor of the newspaper group. "We were surprised and very pleased with the response."

The donation is earmarked specifically for the Liberty Fund, which Mazzacco explained has been set up to help families across the country who have been affected by the events of Sept. 11.

Acknowledging that the Red Cross and other Sept. 11 assistance funds have been criticized of late regarding disbursement of the millions of dollars in donations, Mazzacco urged the public to check the Red Cross’ Web site, www.redcross.org, for a checklist of myths that the organization wishes to dispel.

The site notes that between Sept. 11 and Oct. 30 the Red Cross has provided direct assistance amounting to $111.3 million. Services include cash assistance to survivors, counseling, meals, etc. More than 2,500 checks have been written, Maz-zacco said.

The grants that were distributed covered up to three months of living expenses, mortgages, rent, college tui-tion and other expenses, he said.

The assistance, which Mazzacco stressed is an outright grant and not a loan, is need-based. Some families who feel that others need it more than they do have turned down the money, he said.

One of the early problems in the aftermath of Sept. 11, he noted, was that never in the history of the organization had such a large amount of money been raised in such a short period of time.

"Initially, we couldn’t handle the number of calls coming in and the input of data required," Mazzacco said.

Those problems have been addressed, he said.

Despite the Red Cross’ best efforts in combing lists of victims and their families, not every family has been reached, he noted, adding that efforts to do so will continue.

Funds not specifically targeted for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks will be put to good use, he assured.

"We’re still helping 150-plus families who were affected by the 1995 bombing [of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building] in Oklahoma City," he said.

"The World Trade Center relief efforts will be long term," Mazzacco said. "We continue to be there 24-7."