Annual rebate checks are now available at the Harvard Cooperative Society, but this year Coop members have a chance to contribute their 5 percent return to something other than their bank accounts.

In response to the Sept. 11 attacks, the Coop has announced that it will match donations up to $75,000 with members who donate their rebate checks to the American Red Cross Relief Fund.

In addition, the Coop has already pledged to donate $25,000 to the Red Cross, for a total possible contribution of $100,000.

Coop President Jeremiah P. Murphy Jr. ’73 said he hoped members would respond favorably to the plan.

“We felt that a large cross-section of our membership would like to donate to the American Red Cross Relief Fund,” he said.

Harvard students who serve on the Coop’s Board of Directors encouraged members to take advantage of the Coop’s offer.

“I think its a wonderful way for members of the Harvard and MIT communities to contribute to the nation’s disaster relief fund,” said Coop Student Director Trina Dutta ’03, who is also a Crimson executive.

Student Director Elena S. Schoenberger ’02 called the plan “a wonderful idea.”

The Coop plans to distribute about $650,000 in rebates to more than 35,000 members, about 5,000 of whom are Harvard undergraduates.

Checks have been available since Oct. 15, and the Coop plans to engage in a variety of publicity efforts to encourage members to pick them up.

The store has already taken out advertisements in The Crimson providing rebate information to members—checks are available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.—and students can also access their Coop accounts online at www.thecoop.com.

Murphy said he expects that an e-mail regarding the availability of checks and the specific amount a member should expect will also be sent out in the next few days.

Members will also have the opportunity to donate their checks online.

For the fourth year in a row, the Coop will be offering members a 5 percent return on all purchases. Economic difficulties had forced significantly reduced returns in earlier years.

Murphy said retail sales have been slow in recent months, but he said he did not know if the current economic downturn would affect the rate of future rebates.