Microsoft Employees Donate $410,000 to Haiti Relief Efforts

Microsoft and its employees have lived up to a tradition of giving established long ago, at the start of the 80’s, with the support offered to the relief efforts that follow in the aftermath of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake which hit Haiti. The Redmond giant noted that in its case it was more than just about corporate support offered for the victims in Haiti, as a groundswell of company employees had rallied, laboring to raise money and contribute to the donations heading to the Caribbean nation on the island of Hispaniola in the Atlantic.

No less than 1,600 employees had initially managed to raise over $280,000 in donations, offering additional financial resources to 104 nonprofits already present in Haiti. This number has grown since it was first reported.

“At Microsoft we are heartened to see our employees step up and support the relief efforts. To date, we have over 2,200 employees who have donated to over 120 organizations working in Haiti, contributing over $410,000 which Microsoft will match,” revealed Akhtar Badshah, senior director, Global Community Affairs.

Microsoft traditionally matches all donations made by its employees dollar for dollar, up to a maximum of $12,000 per year, per employee. In addition, the Redmond company also donates $17 per each hour company workers volunteer to non—profits. This means that the software giant will too offer at least $410,000 to Haiti relief efforts. This is on top of the initial support Microsoft announced. “As a company we have made an initial commitment of $1.25 million in cash and in-kind support,” Badshah added.

The company also informed that Gisli Olafsson, a disaster management technical advisor for Microsoft's Global Strategic Accounts team, along with the Iceland’s Urban Search and Rescue team, was the first international rescue group to reach Haiti, 32 hours after the earthquake. “The scene was horrible, with large parts of the city collapsed, bodies lying in the streets, and people trying to seek shelter outdoors since they were afraid of aftershocks,” Olafsson revealed. “As you drive through the city, power cables are down in many places and rubble is often in the street, making it hard to get around.” Estimates from the International Red Cross on Thursday indicate that the death toll in Haiti that it could be as high as 50,000. At the same time, the Red Cross notes that a third of Haitians, more than 3 million people are in need of relief.

Of course, along with Microsoft and its employees, other companies, as well as people and governments around the world have already reacted to the disaster. “The response has been phenomenal,” Badshah said. “It’s a massive tragedy, and we are very humbled by the response from our employees and the response from our relief organization partners who are moving very quickly to bring in all the help that is needed.”