Hasty Ruminations

Speaking out, to remove all doubt. http://hastyruminations.blogspot.com

You are here > Weblog

Thursday, December 30, 2004

Tsunami Help

Bloomberg documented American stinginess with the following:

Amazon.com, the world's largest Internet retailer, had collected $3.29 million as of 10:06 p.m. New York Time through a link on its home page that lets customers make donations to the American Red Cross.

Coca-Cola, the world's largest soft-drink distributor, said it is providing bottled water and other emergency supplies in Indonesia, India and Thailand.

New York-based Pfizer, the world's largest drugmaker, said it will donate $35 million in cash and medication, including its Zithromax, Zyvox and Diflucan anti-infectives, matching the aid the U.S. government has said it will provide.

Citigroup Inc., the world's biggest financial services company, said it will provide $3 million in aid.

Drugmaker Abbott Laboratories said it will provide $4 million in funding and prescription drugs and nutritional aid.

Cisco Systems Inc., whose equipment conducts 70 percent of the world's Internet traffic, said the San Jose, California-based company and its employees are donating at least $2.5 million to relief efforts.

PepsiCo Inc. said it has allocated $1 million to relief work in the region.

Merck & Co., the No. 2 U.S. drugmaker, today said it will make an initial donation of $250,000 to the American Red Cross and is in discussions with relief agencies to make a ``substantial product donation,'' spokeswoman Anita Larsen said. The company will also match employee contributions.

Johnson & Johnson said yesterday it is giving $2 million in cash and sending packages of supplies, including wound-care and pain-relief products.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said yesterday it is donating $100,000 to the Red Cross and will send antibiotics such as its Tequin drug and other medicines to the region.

Starbucks Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., Computer Associates International Inc., First Data Corp. and Symbol Technologies Inc. also announced donations today or yesterday.

In addition to Amazon.com, other Internet businesses, including Google Inc., the most used Web search service, placed links on their sites for people wanting to make contributions.``They're playing a huge role,'' American Red Cross spokeswoman Kara Bunte said. '`Corporate partners like Amazon and MTV are coming to us and asking ways they can support our relief efforts.''

Other Web companies, including Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft Corp.'s MSN either collected donations or provided links to sites where people could make contributions.

Mountain View, California- based Google made a rare exception to its policy of maintaining a Spartan main page by adding a link titled ``Ways to help with tsunami relief'' and giving it prominent display.

Time Warner Inc.'s America Online placed a highlighted link on its welcome page yesterday that allows members to make donations, spokesman Nicholas Graham said in an interview. AOL is also donating $200,000 to relief efforts, and the company is matching employees' donations up to $50,000 per individual, Graham said.

EBay Inc., the largest Internet marketplace, was working on how it could help in the best way, spokesman Hani Durzy said. He said the company's foundation will make a gift to relief efforts in Asia and EBay was informing sellers of ways they can place items up for sale with proceeds going to charitable organizations.

2 Comments:

  • At 2:17 PM, Blogger brendalove@gmail.com said…

    I love reading those figures. People have been so affected by this tragedy.

    I am going to be really angry if my company "Conglom-o" doesn't do something. They probably will NOW THAT ALL THESE OTHER COMPANIES ARE. I've noticed Conglomo tends to be a "follower" in the business world. It makes you sick sometimes.

    All of the above is my own opinion, of course.

     
  • At 10:09 PM, Blogger j&c said…

    Thank you for this post! It's good to see that not everybody thinks that businesses or capitalism is evil.

    And even companies that do this as a follower are still doing good and can be commended ;)

     

Post a Comment

<< Home