When extraordinary tragedies occur, we recognize our responsibility to help those affected by them. Through programs of matching staff donations, corporate donations and support through Thomson Reuters Foundation, we will aim to provide rapid help to support relief efforts.
During times of select disasters, The Thomson Corporation has implemented a double matching gift program to support disaster victims including:
- Katrina Relief (2005) – through the matching donation program, approximately 7,700 Thomson employees gave $1.35 million to the Red Cross Katrina Relief Fund. This was double-matched by The Thomson Corporation, generating a total contribution of over $4 million.
- Tsunami Relief (2005) - Employees contributed US $725,000 to the tsunami relief fund. This was double-matched, generating a total contribution of $2.2million to relief efforts.
Reuters has made corporate donations in response to major disasters including:
- Tsunami Relief (2005) – Over 2,250 employees contributed US $420,000 to various tsunami relief organizations. In recognition of this support Reuters made a donation of $1 million to support relief efforts, of which $435,000 was awarded in grants to Thai and Indian charities working directly with victims. The balance was used to fund Reuters staff who, using their personal leave, worked in partnership with Habitat for Humanity in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka and Pondicherry, India, to rebuild homes destroyed by the tsunami. 200 volunteers contributed over 1,000 days of effort to support these efforts.
- In the last 12 months, Reuters volunteers have reacted to natural disasters in many different ways. Following the April 2007 floods in Mamaroneck, New York, which saw 11 inches of rain fall in just eight hours, 65 Reuters people spent the day rebuilding homes. House-building volunteers also worked on projects in flood-hit villages in Guandong province, China.
- AlertNet – The services provided by AlertNet, www.alertnet.org, keep relief professionals and the wider public up-to-date on humanitarian crises around the world. AlertNet for Journalists, a set of tools and resources to help reporters worldwide cover difficult crises includes detailed crisis briefings, aid agency contacts, humanitarian statistics and early warning of disasters.
- Through its own AlertNet International Disaster Fund (AIDfund), AlertNet is able to provide financial support to its members non governmental organizations (NGOs); ensuring rapid relief aid can be delivered to victims.
- 2006 - Five awards, each of $20,000, were awarded to humanitarian organizations already active in the earthquake affected areas of Pakistan.
- 2007 - $180,000 was awarded to bring relief to remote areas of Bangladesh devastated by Cyclone Sidr.