ARLINGTON — The Cascade Valley Hospital Foundation plans to accept donations for Oso mudslide relief at least until the end of June.
That’s a six-month extension on the original cut-off date, allowing people to donate around the first anniversary of the disaster.
As the anniversary approaches, millions of dollars have been collected, and organizations handling the money have promised detailed updates on what’s been spent and where.
They still are working to distribute hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some of the nonprofits involved in the slide relief efforts have stopped taking new checks, while others don’t have a deadline.
March 22 will mark one year since the slide killed 43 people. The hospital foundation’s board of directors felt it was important to accept donations from people who want to note the date by giving, spokeswoman Heather Logan said.
The foundation had planned to stop taking donations by the end of January, but the board decided last week to extend the deadline until June 30.
They’ll reassess this spring whether to keep accepting donations. The foundation also raises money for community health projects, such as free mammograms and public health fairs.
People have donated more than $2 million through the foundation to help families affected by the slide, Logan said. The bulk of the money went toward housing help for those displaced.
“What we have learned through this whole thing is not to underestimate the generosity of people,” Logan said. “The other thing we’ve learned through this is that we can’t predict what the long-term needs will be.”
As of Dec. 31, another $2.67 million had been collected by United Way of Snohomish County for mudslide relief. United Way officially stopped accepting slide-related donations Sept. 22, “but we still have some money that’s going out to the community,” spokesman Neil Parekh said. United Way plans to be part of the Stillaguamish Valley’s long-term recovery, he said. Officials are working on an updated report on how donations have been used.
There is no cut-off for donations to the American Red Cross, spokeswoman Jacqueline Koch said.
“We always honor donor intent,” she said. “If people want to give specifically for the landslide relief, they can certainly do that.”
The Red Cross had received about $4.7 million as of Sept. 22, and plans to release an updated report next month.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
Donation info
Donations to Cascade Valley Hospital can be made online at www.cascadevalley.org/foundation. Donations specifically for mudslide relief can no longer be made online. Instead, people can call Heather Logan at 360-618-7805 or email foundation@cascadevalley.org.
People can donate to the Red Cross disaster relief fund online at www.redcross.org or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS.
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