American Red Cross and the World Trade Center

Abstract

Dr. Bernadine Healy was the president of the American Red Cross when the terrorist attacks took place on September 11, 2001. In the aftermath, the American Red Cross implored the American public for donations of money to help those affected by these attacks. This is not an unusual or unreasonable request from this charitable organization, which provides assistance and relief to victims of disasters. The difference in this case study rests within the management of the $564 million collected. Rather than distributing all the donated money to victims of the attacks, Healy created the Liberty Disaster Relief Fund to create a blood reserve/storage system and saved $200 million of the donations for future disasters. Healy would be forced to resign by her board. This case study looks at both sides of this debate: Was Healy being a responsible steward of the money, or did she mislead the American public? Subscribe to JNEL