Sure, corporate irresponsibility is a major problem in this (and every other) country, but it is truly heartwarming to see them step up to the plate when people are in need. Here's a brief list of notable contributions to the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort:
- Microsoft, everyone's favorite punching bag, is donating an amazing amount of cash, equipment and manpower.
- Apple has enabled donations via iTunes and last I heard there are 16 million+ iTunes users
- GM is matching employee donations and more
- Ford is donating cash, vehicles and more
- Daimler-Chrysler is doing their part
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September 13, 2005 4:50 PM Rich said...
True charity is anonymous. :-)
September 13, 2005 8:19 PM John said...
Sure, these companies are getting what amounts to advertising from their donations. But, that point is lost on the kid eating a warm meal and sleeping under a roof tonight.
It's also good to see a number of companies matching employee donations. If anyone has an employer that will match funds, by all means take the opportunity to double your donation. Sorry, Rich. You can't bring me down.
September 13, 2005 11:32 PM Rich said...
I'm not trying to bring you down. But I am constantly amazed at the LACK of generosity of humungoid corporations.
MS gave $7,000,000 dollars... sounds impressive until you hear that Celine Dion PERSONALLY gave ONE million dollars.
As a percentage of income, who is being more generous here?
September 14, 2005 9:18 PM John said...
If MS or any other corporation were privately owned then I'm sure they would give more. Unfortunately, they are at the mercy of the stockholders. Celine doesn't have to answer to Wall Street and is probably more agile. I'm not making excuses for them, but I can understand why it isn't comparing Apples to oranges (sorry, I couldn't resist the pun).
But, my original point holds - $7M is wonderful, no matter what the donation-to-income ratio is. Not to pick nits, but they, like other companies, are also matching employee donations which (at last count) was over $1M.