Community Corner

Allentown Explosion: How You Can Help

Red Cross of the Lehigh Valley has accepted more than $8,000 for victims

The said it was continuing to help nine people who were displaced by the fire and explosion on N. 13th Street in Allentown on Friday.

Five people were killed in the blast, including a 4-month-old boy, a 16-year-old girl and Bill Hall and his wife, Beatrice, a beloved neighborhood.

People who live on the odd-numbered side of the 500 block of N. 13th Street were allowed back into their homes on Friday, according to a Red Cross news release. Those who live in the 600 block were allowed back home on Thursday.

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As of Friday, the Valley Red Cross chapter had accepted more than $8,200 in cash donations for the victims. Online donations came in from as far away as Hawaii, according to the news release.

“Every three days on average, our chapter responds to a fire or other disaster in our community,” said John R. Hughes, executive director of the Lehigh Valley Red Cross chapter, through the news release.

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“As a charitable organization we depend on volunteers and the generosity of the general public to perform our mission of helping people in times of need. We are indebted to everyone who has made a donation to our organization to help us do what we do best – providing for the immediate emergency needs of people affected by a disaster.”

At the same time, the Red Cross did want to issue a reminder to its benefactors that it does not accept donations of food, clothing or household items.

The news release said:

"Though well intentioned, these donations have hidden costs and pose a storage problem for the Red Cross. However, the Red Cross partners with a number of nonprofit agencies here in the greater Lehigh Valley that do accept these items, and disaster clients are encouraged to use these resources. For example, the Salvation Army in Allentown accepts clothing; the Second Harvest food bank accepts non-perishable food items. All disaster victims receive a referral and resource directory from the American Red Cross that includes a comprehensive list of area nonprofit agencies where they can get clothing, food, furniture, and other items."

But the Red Cross will accept cash donations in three ways:

  • By phone at 610-865-4400
  • By check:  payable to American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley, 2200 Avenue A, Bethlehem, PA 18017.


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