NORTH COAST, Calif. – The American Red Cross has received a $5,000 donation from Steve Eazell, president of the Western State Acquirers Association (WSAA), to help those affected by Superstorm Sandy.

The donation was given to American Red Cross, Sonoma, Mendocino & Lake Counties, for support of the national Sandy relief effort.

Eazell, who is national sales and marketing director for SECURE Payment Systems, is based in Windsor, Calif., close to the headquarters for the Red Cross in Sonoma County.

“This is a challenge to others in our industry,” Eazell said. “We here at the Western States Acquirers Association were touched deeply by the devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy and wanted to do what we could to help in the relief efforts.”  He continued,” The Red Cross has always provided an outstanding response to communities facing situations like these and we can think of no better way to spend this small token of our support.”

WSAA is a nonprofit association of acquirers, which are financial institutions that provide credit card services to merchants. The association serves the acquiring business community through education, training, and networking events.

Thanks to public support, the American Red Cross has provided food, shelter, relief supplies and comfort to thousands of people impacted by Sandy. This has included:

• Serving more than 8.8 million meals and snacks.
• Handing out more than 6.6 million relief items, including cold weather items and clean-up supplies.
• Providing more than 101,000 health services and emotional support contacts for people who have been living in very difficult conditions.
• Connecting with more than 93,000 families and individuals to determine recovery needs and provide access to resources.
• Mobilizing more than 15,800 trained workers to help people affected by Sandy. About 90 percent of them are volunteers from all over the country.
• Overall, a range of groups has provided more than 158,000 shelter stays for Sandy, and the Red Cross has provided more than 81,000 of those stays.

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families.

The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission.

For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join the blog at http://blog.redcross.org .