Money Raised By 12-12-12 Concert Helping Sandy Relief Effort
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- In the five weeks since the star-studded 12-12-12 Concert for Sandy Relief, the organization behind the fundraiser has been distributing some of the $50 million brought in to organizations helping with the relief effort.
Freeport, Long Island resident Dylan Clay rode out the storm in her home and was eventually forced to take refuge of the top floor as her house filled with water.
"We were all up in the attic. I had my son and my niece with me. And basically, the house was swaying and you look out the window, all you see is black," Clay told CBS 2's Rob Morrison.
When the water receded, it left behind mold that Clay couldn't afford to have removed.
She turned to the Robin Hood Foundation and it sent over volunteers with supplies, funded by money raised during the concert.
"Mold is extremely dangerous. One of the concerns is that people are not going to properly treat their house for mold," All Hands volunteer Marc Young told Morrison. "This grant will enable us to provide a free service for people that can't treat it themselves."
The Robin Hood Foundation said it is distributing the money quickly but carefully. In the five weeks since the concert, the non-profit has already given $20 million to relief organizations.
"Initially, we were distributing lots of money in emergency assistance. We're moving now towards housing, getting people back into their homes -- restoring, remediating, rebuilding," said Deborah Winshel with the Robin Hood Foundation.
Clay said she has a lung condition and without the mold clean-up funded by the concert, she would be in big trouble.
"Without that, I would probably be in the hospital right now with asthma," Clay told Morrison.
Money from the 12-12-12 concert isn't just going to clean up, but also counseling to help those who lived through Sandy.
All of the administrative costs of the Robin Hood Foundation are covered by the board of trustees. That means they promise every cent of every dollar raised during the 12-12-12 concert is going to help those in need.
By the end of December, the Robin Hood Foundation had sent checks to more than 160 organizations involved in the relief effort.
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