$100,000 donation sent to Red Cross comes back to LV

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2001 | 9:42 a.m.

Some of the dollars donated to help victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will come back to Las Vegas to aid those who lost their jobs in the economic downturn that followed.

The American Red Cross Southern Nevada Chapter and MGM MIRAGE Inc. asked the national office of the American Red Cross to help Las Vegans put out of work by the dip in travel after terrorist attacks.

That request was answered recently when the national office deferred $100,000 of the MGM MIRAGE's $1 million national relief donation back to Las Vegas.

The money will be used for emergency rent and utility assistance for workers displaced by the economic downturn and will be distributed by the local Red Cross and the Clark County Housing Authority.

The Clark County Commission recently authorized $1.6 million to the housing authority for rent assistance.

Other acts of charity to help national and local relief efforts:

* The Police Officer Riding 4 Kids (PORK) organization will hold its annual motorcycle poker run Sunday, with proceeds going to the New York City Police and Fire Rescue Fund. The event, co-sponsored by Interstate Plumbing & Air Conditioning Inc., will begin 9:30 a.m. at Starbuck's at 4500 E. Sunset Road in Henderson and finish at the Harley-Davidson Cafe on Las Vegas Boulevard. Registration is $30 per person and $20 per ride-along. Since its inception in 1999, PORK has raised $50,000 for children's charities. For more information, call 678-8800.

* Coldwell Banker Premier Realty offices in Green Valley and on West Sahara Avenue have donated $10,500 to the American Red Cross to assist victims of the East Coast tragedies.

* Entertainer Danny Gans, who headlines at the MGM Grand, has pledged $75,000 -- $1,000 per show through the end of the year -- to the American Red Cross Southern Nevada Chapter.

* The Levinson family, longtime owners of Bonnie Springs Ranch, has donated the thousands of dollars in $1 bills signed by bar patrons that have been decorating the bar area since 1991. The money went to the Clark County Fire Fighters Burn Foundation to help local burn survivors.

* Students at Mike O'Callaghan Middle School raised $3,300 and gave it to the Clark County Fire Department to give to victims of the terrorist attacks.

* Entrance fees at Lake Mead National Recreation Area will be waived Nov. 10-12, Veterans Day weekend, to honor the victims.