By simply going out to dinner Thursday at some local restaurants, patrons can help the families of the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Some local restaurants will be donating all of their profits Thursday to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund in coordination with the nationwide Dine for America project.

Many restaurant chains have signed on to help, donating profits from all of their businesses. Locally, Red Lobster, 1670 N. Atherton St.; The Olive Garden, 1945 Waddle Rd.; Outback Steakhouse, 1905 Waddle Rd.; and Ruby Tuesday, 1550 S. Atherton St., will participate.

The idea came from employees at Restaurants Unlimited who were looking for some way to help the grieving families.

Rick Amero, a spokesman for Restaurants Unlimited, said the event came together quickly.

"We engineered the idea and contacted some restaurants to see if we could get a national effort going," Amero said.

He said the company decided to launch the national dinner on Thursday because it is exactly one month after the attacks.

"We have about 7,500 restaurants donating their profits and the number is growing," Amero said. "We are expecting a great turnout."

Some managers' local restaurants said they are looking forward to it.

"I hope we have a big turnout," said Amanda Peters, manager of Ruby Tuesday.

Peters said the businesses that are participating expect a rise in sales Thursday.

"It should be a big event for us," Peters said.

She said there will be extra staff on hand at the restaurant to accommodate a potentially larger turnout.

Other local businesses have joined relief efforts as well.

The Penn State Bookstore recently made a $10,000 contribution to the Centre Communities Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Manager Tom Bauer said the business was motivated to make the donation by the generosity of Penn State football fans.

Fans raised nearly $18,000 for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund through a collection at Beaver Stadium during the Penn State-Wisconsin game on
Sept. 22.

Bauer decided to match the first $10,000 raised.

The donation will go directly to the local Red Cross and be used specifically for a Penn State student who may need financial assistance following a disaster, such as fire.

"Originally, I wanted the money to go directly to a Penn State student affected by the attacks, but we decided to set up something locally instead," Bauer said.

Also, the Centre County United Way has received $25,000 in donations for its September 11th Fund, said executive director Eleanor Beaver.

"The money we have received for the fund is given as extra gifts over and above what people are giving to the local United Way," Beaver said.

She said that the United Way is working on the biggest part of their fund-raising campaign.

"We are hoping people will give twice because of the needs here and also because of the needs in New York and Washington, D.C.," Beaver said.

As well as working to raise funds, there are still ongoing efforts to maintain blood supplies locally and nationally.

Several residents donated blood through drives set up by the American Red Cross.

"Everybody's been fairly overwhelmed with donors," said Wendi Keeler, coordinator for campus blood drives.

Keeler said much of the need for blood at the disaster sites has been met due to the small number of survivors.

"Unfortunately, the need for blood wasn't as great as we originally thought it would be," Keeler said.

Most of the blood donated in State College was sent to Philadelphia, she said, to replace the blood they lost.

"We still need donors everyday to keep up with our hospital's needs," Keeler said.