Posted on May 29, 2008

print  e-mail

American Businesses Provide Millions to Aid Earthquake Survivors

U.S. companies have pledged at least $54 million in cash, goods, and services to survivors of the earthquake that devastated China's Sichuan Province two weeks ago, the Washington Post reports.

To date, nineteen businesses, including Amway, Anheuser-Busch, Merck, and Wal-Mart, have pledged $1 million or more. Most of Amway's $4.3 million donation — the largest the company has ever made for disaster relief — was in cash, but it also includes home-care products, food supplements, and antibacterial soap. "The magnitude of U.S. corporate contributions indicates the level of concern for the victims of the tragedy," said Stephen Jordan, executive director of the Business Civic Leadership Center at the Commerce Department, which compiled the figures.

Corporate giving to relief and recovery efforts is expected to continue as the death toll from the quake rises. To date, the number of earthquake-related deaths is estimated at 67,000, while more than 360,000 people have been injured and nearly 21,000 remain missing. In response to the 2006 earthquake in Pakistan, U.S. corporations donated approximately $100 million. Giving for the Chinese disaster could eventually outpace that response, a BCLC spokeswoman said.

While companies don't typically budget for humanitarian relief, disasters such as 9/11, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and hurricanes Katrina and Rita have raised public expectations of what American businesses can and should do, said Patrick Rooney, director of research at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. "[Corporate giving] is well-intentioned and has a philanthropic pulse to it," said Rooney. "[But] a lot of the U.S.-based corporations are doing business in China now, and they recognize they have a strategic interest and relationship that's important to maintain."

Mui, Ylan. “U.S. Firms Come to China's Aid.” Washington Post 5/28/08.

Primary Subject: International Affairs/Development
Secondary Subject(s): Agriculture/Food, Human Services, Health
Location(s): China, Sichuan Province

FC011982