GEORGETOWN, Del., Sept. 14, 2005 – Sussex County government is lending its support to the American Red Cross and that organization’s effort to help the millions of people affected by Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast.

County Council, at its Tuesday, Sept. 13, meeting, approved a $10,000 contribution to the American Red Cross of the Delmarva Peninsula.

County officials have asked that the money be used as much as possible for families who were displaced by the Aug. 29 storm, and have since migrated to Delaware seeking temporary refuge.

Sussex leaders said the contribution is a simple but important way of helping fellow Americans in need.

“When we’ve got a community that’s down like this, we want to do whatever we can to help them,” said Council Vice President Lynn J. Rogers of Milton. “That could easily be us, and someday we might need their help.”

“This is just a small token of our concern for the life, safety and welfare of that afflicted region,” Rogers added.

Daniel Valle, chief operating officer of the Delmarva Peninsula chapter, and Vanessa Megee, a member of the chapter’s Board of Directors, were on hand to receive the grant.

Valle said the contribution would be immensely helpful in his organization’s mission to render aid.

“It will assist the Red Cross in providing immediate financial assistance and shelter to Katrina-affected families,” Valle said. As many as 75 families have migrated to Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and have sought out the Red Cross’s assistance.

“We very much appreciate the Sussex County Council’s commitment to making these people more effectively integrated into the local community,” Valle added. “We appreciate this partnership.”

The council’s action Tuesday was the latest contribution to the Red Cross during a time of need. The council gave the organization $10,000 in the wake of the tsunami disaster in December 2004. The council also gave the Red Cross a $10,000 grant following the terrorist attacks in 2001.

County Administrator Robert L. Stickels said the contribution by the council is on behalf of all Sussex County residents.

“All of us have been moved in some way by what we’ve seen and read about the devastation,” Stickels said. “This is our contribution, on the part of all our residents, to ease these troublesome times.”