Minnesota Vikings To Donate $50,000 To Victims Of The Drake Hotel Fire
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The Minnesota Vikings announced Sunday they were donating $50,000 dollars to the victims of the Drake Hotel Fire.
Less than a block away from U.S. Bank Stadium, 75 adults that were displaced in the fire are staying at First Covenant Church.
"We feel out of the loop, and that's just not fair," Jeffery Jones of Minneapolis said.
The victims staying at this Church paid rent to stay at the Drake Hotel. They say there's a misconception that all of the victims were homeless previously.
Ron Tolbert says he's grateful for the help of the Red Cross, but fears the donations are only going to help the families on government assistance.
"This church is wonderful, the Red Cross staff is wonderful," Tolbert said. "The problem is the people not here."
Hennepin County is responsible for the families that were displaced in the fire because they were paying for them to stay at the Drake. Those families are being housed in hotel rooms in Bloomington. A spokesperson for the county said they aren't handling the donations coming in for the fire victims.
Those are the responsibility of the Minneapolis Foundation and Red Cross to delegate. So far the Red Cross has provided close to 2,500 meals and hundreds of overnight shelter stays.
"We're working with partners to make sure they have a safe, warm place to stay as we start the recovery process," Red Cross Regional Communications Officer Carrie Carlson-Guest said.
The Minneapolis Foundation says nearly $400,000 has been raised for the victims so far. They said $40,000 of that will go to help house the adults at First Covenant Church for up to three weeks.