On Monday, it was the Austin Rotary Club.

Saturday, August 05, 2000

On Monday, it was the Austin Rotary Club.

On Wednesday, Austin Medical Center – Mayo Health System came through with a large donation to help flood victims.

Dr. Timothy Johnson, president and CEO of AMC – Mayo Health Systems, presented a check for $10,000 to Amy J. Baskin, executive director of the United Way of Mower County.

"Because so many people are suffering, we felt it was our obligation to do this," Johnson said.

According to the terms of the AMC – Mayo Health Systems donation, $5,000 will go to the Salvation Army Austin Corps and $5,000 will go to the Mower County chapter of the American Red Cross.

The United Way has agreed to be the depository for funds being raised to assist flood victims and administers a combined disaster relief fund that benefits both the Salvation Army and Red Cross.

The executive director of the United Way of Mower County said the donation pushed the total to date to $85,000.

On Monday, the Austin Rotary Club made a donation of $500 to the combined disaster relief fund and Tuesday, the United Way received a check – the amount was not disclosed – from the Pine Island Chamber of Commerce.

The goal is to raise $200,000 to cover the expenses of the two relief agencies.

"I’m pretty confident at this time, that we will reach the goal," said Baskin. "We have yet to seek help from outside agencies and when we do that, we expect even more money to come into the combined disaster fund."

A week ago, the fund was bolstered with a $50,000 donation from Hormel Foods Corp.