Contributions of cash and merchandise continue to be offered by both consumer electronics and major appliance manufacturers and retailers in the days after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the hijacked plane that crashed in rural Pennsylvania outside of Pittsburgh.
Many industry Web sites have links on their front pages for contribution to the American Red Cross and the like.
Here is a growing, and probably incomplete, list of contributors:
Radio Shack is enabling consumers to make contributions to the September 11th Fund, which is a collaboration of United Way, the New York Community Trust and the Council on Foundations, at 5200 company-owned stores nationwide. The chain has been supporting the most immediate and basic needs at ground zero in New York with local store managers providing batteries, flashlights, FRS radios and other emergency-related products to rescue teams.
Best Buy is committing $1 million from its Customer Giving Campaign that will be presented to the American Red Cross. The retailer is contributing $100,000 on behalf of the company.
Good Guys has pledged to donate five percent of its sales from its stores and online operation from Sept. 15 through Sept. 30, which should be more than $1 million. The donations will be send to The New York Times 9/11 Neediest Fund, which was created by the newspaper to support those injured in the attack and the families who died. The fund will support ten non-profit organizations.
Sony Corporation of America is making a $4 million contribution to relief organizations. Specifically $3 million will be sent to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund (www.redcross.org), while $1 million to the New York City Public Private Initiatives (NYCPPI; http://home.nyc.gov/volunteer.html), which helps the families of Police, Fire, EMS and other City employees involved in rescue efforts.
Maytag’s Corporation Foundation is contributing $20,000 to the September 11th Fund, a charitable fund established to help the victims of the terrorist attacks in New York City and elsewhere. Additionally, the foundation will match individual contributions of $25 or more made by Maytag employees and retirees to any human services agency assisting with disaster relief.
Panasonic has made a $1 million donation to aid victims and help in the relief effort. The company also contributed its “Toughbook” ruggedized notebook computer for use by local, state and federal officials at the site. Panasonic has donated 1000 flashlights, 1000 TaskMaster head-mounted lamps, 3000 packages of alkaline AA batteries and 2000 packages of alkaline D batteries and has also inaugurated an employee clothing drive.
Kodak has donated $2 million to American Red Cross relief efforts along with needed medical X-ray film and other radiography products that hospitals and medical centers in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania need.
Hewlett Packard has contributed $3 million to the American Red Cross. In addition it plans to match company employee donations up to an addition $2 million. HP also made equipment donations valued at more than $300,000 to the Red Cross, the New York Attorney General’s Office, The New York Police Department and the New York City trauma center.
Wal-Mart Stores is contributing $2 million to national relief efforts, $1 million to the American Red Cross and at least another million in “the near future” to other agencies. Wal-Mart Stores and Sams Clubs locations are also collecting more money for donation through in-store fund raising efforts with boxes in the stores labeled “Together We Stand.”
Blockbuster is contributing $1 million to the September 11 fund.
EBay has reportedly launched a campaign to raise $100 million in 100 days through charity auctions on eBay.com. The auction site is asking users to list charity items for sale on the site and then eBay will distribute the proceeds to the September 11th fund.
Amazon.com has collected from its users more than $6 million in contributions to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief fund as of Sept. 17.
Shrapnel Games will donate 5 percent of its web site’s product sales to the American Red Cross through Oct. 10.
Toshiba and the Toshiba America Group of Companies has donated $1 million to the relief efforts, as well as an additional $40,000 donation to the American Red Cross.
And a group of Boston-based and nationally-based public relations executives involved with electronics companies has established the Twin Towers Orphan Fund (http://www.ttof.org), that will provide long-term care and support for children whose parents were lost in the terrorist attacks.
