Wednesday, December 21, 2005

courant.com | Role In Relief Rising

courant.com | Role In Relief Rising: "Role In Relief Rising
U.S. Businesses Giving Worldwide In Response To Natural Disasters
December 21, 2005
By VIOREL URMA, Associated Press

The killer tsunamis, hurricanes and earthquakes of the past year have led to more aid from U.S. companies, which are increasingly reaching out to donate money and supplies and provide expertise, training and services.

Awash in cash as a result of the high-flying economy, corporations and executives' private foundations can now respond faster, helped by the overseas presence of many U.S. businesses, which often see an opportunity to advance their strategic interests. "

Generosity Inc.

Generosity Inc.: "Most Washingtonians haven't heard of Bay St. Louis, Miss. But down in that hurricane-ravaged area, I suspect they are feeling pretty warmly these days toward our region's business community.

Three weeks after Katrina struck, the Loudoun Medical Group, the largest physicians group in Northern Virginia, teamed up with the Loudoun Foundation and a dozen other local businesses -- including America Online, Independence Air, Inova Health System and Seitz Technologies -- to open a medical relief mission at the old train depot in Bay St. Louis, providing free medical services and medications. Doctors, nurses and administrators from Loudoun and Fairfax counties, along with other volunteers, have been rotating through the community ever since, treating more than 8,000 people."

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

CBC News: Tsunami recovery 'impressive,' says Oxfam

CBC News: Tsunami recovery 'impressive,' says Oxfam: "Tsunami recovery 'impressive,' says Oxfam
Last Updated Tue, 20 Dec 2005 08:52:16 EST
CBC News

More than half of the people affected by last year's tsunami are back at work, and economies are fast returning to normal, according to a new report by Oxfam International.

The report focuses on the recovery that has occurred throughout the year, and offers some surprising numbers."

New Zealand, world, sport, business & entertainment news on Stuff.co.nz: Where did our tsunami donations go?

New Zealand, world, sport, business & entertainment news on Stuff.co.nz: Where did our tsunami donations go?: "Where did our tsunami donations go?
21 December 2005
By CHALPAT SONTI

Less than half of the $94 million New Zealanders donated for the Boxing Day tsunami relief effort has been spent, as hundreds of thousands of victims continue to live in rotten tents and shacks.

New Zealand and other countries which contributed to a massive worldwide response are watching helplessly as rebuilding continues at a snail's pace, a year after the waves struck.

There are also claims that private relief agencies have stashed some of the money for future natural disasters."

Volunteers Clear Out New Orleans Synagogue - Yahoo! News

Volunteers Clear Out New Orleans Synagogue - Yahoo! News: "Standing on moldy and debris-covered floors, college students cleaning up a Jewish temple paused Monday for a prayer service — the first at Beth
Israel Synagogue since Hurricane Katrina flooded it with more than 10 feet of water three months ago.
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The dozen or so students were among roughly 50 from colleges across the country who have come to New Orleans to spend their winter break helping with recovery efforts at the century-old synagogue, as well as at area homes and schools left damaged by the storm."

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Analysis: Giving something back

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Analysis: Giving something back: "As the first anniversary of the south Asian tsunami approaches, Ken Burnett looks at why the Disasters Emergency Committee is so poor at giving aid donors feedback and encouraging further giving "

Charity coalition seeks donors

Charity coalition seeks donors: "Charity coalition seeks donors
Fast-track rebuilding city by giving, it says
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
By Michael Perlstein
Staff writer

Over lunch last month, movers and shakers from six local charities were surveying the vast humanitarian needs of post-Katrina New Orleans and pondering where to focus their efforts. The answer they came up with: themselves. The plan: to join forces to regroup and announce they're back in business.

At a news conference Monday, representatives of about 20 nonprofit agencies stood in front of a burned-out Catholic Charities complex on Carrollton Avenue to draw attention to their plight. Operating under the name 'Rebuild by Giving,' the consortium of civic and charitable groups said their most important message is, simply: 'We're here.'"

Monday, December 19, 2005

Donated Bookmobile Bound for Miss. Town - Yahoo! News

Donated Bookmobile Bound for Miss. Town - Yahoo! News: "27-foot gift box on wheels filled with thousands of books is headed for a Mississippi town that lost its library during Hurricane Katrina.
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The bookmobile is scheduled to arrive Monday in Pearlington, Miss. It will serve as a temporary replacement for the town's library, which was gutted in the Aug. 29 storm."

Top News Article | Reuters.co.uk

Top News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "Tsunami response was world's best ever: UN
Mon Dec 19, 2005 4:11 AM GMT170
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By Emma Batha

LONDON (Reuters) - As the world marks the first anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, millions of people who dug into their pockets in an unprecedented outpouring of generosity will be wondering how their money has been spent.

Some may be surprised to discover that 12 months on the vast majority of the 1.8 million people who lost their homes in the December 26 disaster are still in temporary accommodation."

Newsroom - Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick

Newsroom - Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick: "Nonprofits Divided on Impact of Hurricane Relief Giving

InsideIndianaBusiness.com Report

12/19/2005 8:06:28 AM
A study conducted by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University shows a difference in perception on how giving to hurricane relief efforts is affecting fundraising for nonprofit organizations. "

Hattiesburg American - www.hattiesburgamerican.com - Hattiesburg, Miss.

Hattiesburg American - www.hattiesburgamerican.com - Hattiesburg, Miss.:
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"While Congress has raised concerns regarding some Katrina spending, experts say it's too early to determine how all the donations are being used.

'It's kind of hard to hit a moving target,' said Peter Dobkin Hall, a lecturer at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard. 'Eventually, people will get down to that.'

Of the nearly $3 billion given, the American Red Cross has raised $1.82 billion - nearly two-thirds of all donations.

Hall attributed that to the fact the Red Cross is an iconic organization people hold up and admire.

But the nonprofit faces plenty of problems with Congress demanding answers to the agency's Katrina response and its president, Marsha Evans, resigning, Hall said. 'Any organization that's been through four CEOs in 10 years is a dysfunctional organization.'"

Fredericksburg.com - Putting faith to work

Fredericksburg.com - Putting faith to work: "SLIDELL, La.--Across the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast, the faithful gather from every corner of the country to help strangers in Louisiana and Mississippi in their time of need.

Among those answering God's call are dozens of volunteers from the Fredericksburg area. They've loaded up church buses and vans, personal cars, business vehicles--even tractor-trailers--to do their part in the biggest disaster-relief effort in American history."

A Hole in the World Aid Web / Lessons learned in modern disasters point to gaps in the charity net

A Hole in the World Aid Web / Lessons learned in modern disasters point to gaps in the charity net:
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"Since Sept. 11, 2001, when disaster hit home in a way that Americans will never forget, catastrophe has been in the limelight, our response to natural and man-made emergencies as a world community, as a nation and as individuals, severely tested. 'The events of 9/11 shook us to our core,' says Daniel Borochoff, founder and president of the American Institute of Philanthropy, a charity watchdog and information service that evaluates the efficiency, accountability and governance of nonprofit organizations. If, as a nation, we tend to be insular, maybe even isolationist, that tendency came to an end with Sept. 11, and our deepest concerns were awakened, our most profound convictions challenged. And while the scope and proportion of recent calamity, from terrorism to tsunamis to hurricanes to quakes to humanitarian crises, is staggering, the challenges aren't new, they've just become more visible.

Addressing these challenges is a web of world aid, i"