WATERLOO -- The American Red Cross Hawkeye Chapter received two more much-needed donations for disaster relief last week.

Wednesday, the Selective Group Foundation kicked in $10,000 for the Hawkeye Chapter in partnership with PDCM Insurance of Waterloo. Selective Insurance Group has 20 independent agents across Iowa.

"It's just a small way to say that we're thinking of the folks here," said David Bond of Madison, Wis., vice president of local Selective operations. "We appreciate, certainly, the hard work the American Red Cross is doing day in and day out, and we also recognize the work our independent agency partners do here in the state. "

Steve Clabby of PDCM presented the gift with Bond.

"Our partners live and breathe in these same communities and had the same issues that everybody else had," said Bond, who was interviewing a job applicant in Cedar Rapids when floods hit.

Friday, Red Cross representatives attended a team building meeting at the Cedar Falls Wal-Mart where they received a check for $25,000 from the Wal-Mart Foundation earmarked for the Iowa floods and tornado survivors.

"They look at crises all over the country and wanted to make sure they helped out our local Red Cross with a donation," said Bob Brokaw, a store manager. "Earlier this year the Foundation donated a half a million to the national Red Cross and Salvation Army funds, but this was more right here, to help Iowans, which was kind of neat. "

The Red Cross has raised about $6.5 million of the $14 million needed to cover the Iowa disaster, said Cheryl Ritz, director of fund development for the Hawkeye Chapter. She's hoping Iowa won't have to rely on the depleted national account, which is picking up disaster relief tabs with borrowed dollars.

"The Red Cross doesn't need money," Ritz said. "The people we help need money. And the work continues beyond seeing the tangible thing we do.

"There's the mental health counselors still working with people in the area, there's still people coming in with landlord verification forms and needing rental assistance, needing water heaters," Ritz added.

Selective launched a national campaign for additional Red Cross money from its 2,000 employees.

Selective will donate a total of $30,000 to Iowa-area chapters. Bond was also delivering checks to Red Cross sites in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and the Quad Cities.

The Red Cross has aided tens of thousands of Iowans affected by tornadoes and floods this past spring and early summer.

During a period of two months, the Red Cross has run 36 shelters, served more than 752,750 meals and handed out more than 28,500 cleanup kits, according to a press release.

Courier Staff Writer Emily Christensen contributed to this article.

Contact Tina Hinz at (319) 291-1484 or tina.hinz@wcfcourier.com.