Although there has been an outpouring of donations in response to efforts for tsunami relief, local charities have discerned minor and varying fluctuations in the donations received and said they could not definitively attribute the changes to the international tsunami aid.
"There has been a noticeable decrease although it is hard to quantify the actual amount," said David Starmer, president of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad.
The United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area has experienced a "dramatic shortfall, but it is hard to pinpoint any one specific reason for why our fundraising is down," Communications Director Jim Fitzgerald said.
The Charlottesville Habitat for Humanity has had a "good year" in terms of donations, Resource Development Director Kelly Eplee said.
While there has been a small decrease in the number of donations -- approximately between five to 10 percent -- the monetary gifts were larger.
Eplee said she thought changes in donations are not connected to the tsunami for her organization.
However, the effect of the tsunami relief efforts on other charities may not be clear for some time.
"We do not fundraise a lot during January, so we would not have any data to compare if we have been affected or not," said Ruth Stone, executive director of Piedmont CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates). "Most of our gifts have been received before the tsunami."
Stone said she anticipates that there will be little impact on their revenues, although she said predicting the effects is difficult.
Some charities remain relatively unaffected from the effects of the tsunami relief because of the character of their missions.
The Arc of the Piedmont, an organization serving individuals with mental retardation and developmental disabilities, did not notice a significant reduction in contributions or other support since late December.
"Perhaps this is because the nature of our work is so different from the disaster relief work being done abroad," Executive Director Christina Delzingaro said.
Despite a range of causes, many local charities are also involved in supporting tsunami relief efforts on an international level.
"Certainly we support the charitable efforts for the tsunami and do not want to take away from the importance of that cause," Starmer said.
Read More
Two senior U.Va. Health leaders quietly take new jobs without formal announcement
By Ford McCracken | YesterdayKibbe’s departure marks the end of an ongoing battle between U.Va. Health employees and their senior leadership.
Letter from 12 deans to Board of Visitors goes unanswered for almost two weeks
By Naima Sawaya | YesterdayAt the time of publication, the academic deans had received no response from the Board regarding their offer to meet with the Board “as soon as possible.”
Sen. Tim Kaine speaks to U.Va. students, discusses Ryan resignation and more
By Grace Traxler | 2 days agoIn an informal Q&A session, audience members asked about threats to federal research, the future of diversity, equity and inclusion at the University, potential shifts in the Democratic Party and more.
