American General Opens Doors for the American Red Cross.

Business Editors

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 21, 2001

Over the last 10 days, more than 4,000 volunteers have poured through the Central Office of the Greater Houston Area Red Cross at 2700 Southwest Freeway. They were quickly put to work at feeding sites, cooking kitchens, shelters and service centers. Trucks with clean-up kits, comfort kits, water, food and other disaster supplies have passed through the parking lot. Hundreds of volunteers unloaded the 18-wheelers filled with bulk supplies and reloaded supplies into smaller trucks to distribute them across the city and county to the victims of Tropical Storm Allison. The parking lot and the building have been overflowing with activity.

American General Corporation stepped forward to help the Houston chapter with what was becoming a space crunch. American General donated 20,000 square feet of office space to the Tropical Storm Allison Disaster Operation Center.

John McDivitt, chief executive officer for the Greater Houston Area Red Cross, said, "This is truly a most generous gift from American General, not just to the Red Cross, but to the victims of Tropical Storm Allison."

In addition to the gift of office space, American General has donated $500,000 to the American Red Cross for disaster relief. American General and its employees have a long history of supporting the Red Cross in communities across the country. Wayne Wianecki, a financial advisor with American General in Topeka, Kan., has been a Red Cross volunteer for more than 45 years and has assisted in preparing state and local disaster plans and training and mobilizing disaster volunteers. Wianecki is in Houston coordinating the move of Disaster Operations into donated space. Recently Wianecki received American General's Community Spirit Award, including a $2,500 gift to his local Red Cross.

American General is one of the nation's largest diversified financial services organizations with assets of $124 billion and market capitalization of $23 billion. Headquartered in Houston, it is a leading provider of retirement services, investments, life insurance and consumer loans to more than 12 million customers. American General common stock is listed on the New York, Pacific, London and Swiss stock exchanges.

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. To help the victims of this and other disasters, contributions can be made to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund by calling 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may also be sent to your local chapter, or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online credit card donation by visiting www.redcross.org.