Triangle Raises Money For Victims Of Terrorist Attacks, But Where Does It Go?

Triangle residents raised $1 million, which is in New York right now, helping families of the rescue workers who died in the attacks.

Raleigh fire chief Earl Fowler, police chief Jane Perlov, and mayor Paul Coble flew to New York Wednesday to present a check to the New York Firefighters 911 Relief Fund.

Raleigh firefighters filled boots with cash they collected from commuters. Local malls collected donations from thousands of shoppers. The money kept coming in.

"I think the first day it was $240,000. And then mail started coming in. We got a couple of $5,000 checks," said Fowler.

Donations are still coming in all over the Triangle. The money is already going into the hands of the families who need it most.

Triangle residents are giving generously to agencies like the American Red Cross to help families who lost loved ones.

Sorting through all of the victims' needs is an enormous task. The Red Cross and other agencies are working closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to make sure your donations are well spent. They said what families need most right now is cash.

"If you've lost a husband and no longer have that income, then your mortgage is a priority for you. A family can receive, depending on its size, up to $30,000 to pay mortgages, rent, grocery, clothing, funeral expenses," Sherry Mitchell of the American Red Cross said.