ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 23, 1991                   TAG: 9102230103
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Joe Kennedy
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DONATIONS EARMARKED FOR FAMILIES

We would like to be able to help, in a tangible way, any families of servicemen and women in the Middle East. We hear stories about their loss of income, etc., and would like to show our support in this way.

> The Salvation Army has established a $500,000 fund to assist families experiencing financial strain because of the Persian Gulf War.

It is available to residents of Virginia and Washington who have immediate family in the gulf. The money could help families avoid eviction from housing and cutoffs of utilities, or undertake emergency travel.

"We are sending the mail appeal out March 4 to bring in money specifically for this," said Capt. Dean Hinson, the army's commanding officer in Roanoke.

The local headquarters has had few if any direct requests for financial aid from military families, he said. But money earmarked for the War Relief Fund can be dispensed to needy families in Washington or Virginia.

The American Red Cross has established a Gulf Crisis Fund through which money will be sent to the national office for use in local and national war-related needs.

But the Roanoke Valley chapter of the American Red Cross also has a fund drive going - one of its twice-yearly fund-raising campaigns that provide some 30 percent of its annual operating budget. The United Way of Roanoke Valley provides the remainder.

That money is used for Roanoke Valley chapter operations, including services to military families from the area.

A spokesman for the Red Cross in Roanoke said contributions should be marked as to which fund they are intended for.

> Is there any way we can send letters to the POWs through the Red Cross?

"At this time, there isn't," said Rick Russell, director of emergency services for the Tidewater chapter of the American Red Cross. "The Iraqi government is not allowing those to come in."

If you are the next of kin of a prisoner of war, you may go to your local Red Cross chapter and pick up a form requesting a response from the POW, said Steve Warren, spokesman for the Roanoke chapter.

The local chapter will deliver the form to the national chapter, which will send it to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland.

A Swiss citizen then will attempt to deliver the form to Iraq. Any response from the POW would come down through channels and be hand-delivered to the next of kin.

"Hopefully," said Russell, "we will start a process of continuing communication. It all depends on what the Iraqi government allows the Red Cross to do."

(Information provided by Landmark News Service)

If you have questions about anything from Persian Gulf geography and climate to effects on the price of gas or how to write a member of a military unit, call the Mideast Hot Line at\ 981-3313 leave a recorded message. We welcome other contributions - tips for coping, letters and photos from loved ones overseas, ideas for boosting their morale. Send them to\ MIDEAST HOT LINE, Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va., 24010. note that items sent to us cannot be returned. 2 1 HOT LINE Hot Line 


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