Recently, we have seen a wave of natural and man-made disasters. From hurricanes, fires and mass shootings, there are so many tragedies that need our attention and require financial and volunteer aide. Luckily, popular tech companies have stepped up to offer assistance to communities in need. Here are just a few tech companies who have made contributions to disaster relief:
Facebook Donates $10 Million to Harvey Relief
Mark Zuckerberg reported that the Facebook community raised approximately $10 million for Hurricane Harvey relief. This includes user-led fundraisers and $1 million matched by Facebook. Many of the donations are user-driven, however, and Facebook is simply the collection point. Still, it’s great to see the company promoting various disaster relief organizations and contributing financially, as well. Facebook also activated their “Safety Check” feature following recent natural disasters and catastrophic events, allowing people in the area to notify friends and family they are safe.
Tesla Extends Battery Life of Cars for Florida
As Hurricane Irma approached Florida, Tesla announced it would upgrade the battery life of some of its cars in the area. This allowed evacuees to travel farther on one charge in order to (hopefully) get themselves out of the danger zone. While it was a nice gesture, it left many wondering why the battery life had been choked in the first place. But for anyone with a 60 kilowatt-hour battery pack, they already knew they had bought a more affordable Tesla with a shorter range. It’s nice that the company was willing to react quickly to help their customers, as the request for added battery life actually came from a Tesla-owner in the path of the storm.
Airbnb Uses “Open Homes” to Shelter Disaster Victims
Airbnb lets homeowners offer their spaces to evacuees of recent natural disasters with their “Open Homes” page. Anyone who lost their home or was forced to evacuate can use this service to find temporary shelter with a volunteer registered on the site. The site currently states that relief is most desperately needed in Mexico (following the earthquake), Northern California (as wildfires destroyed thousands of homes), locations affected by Hurricane Irma and Maria and Las Vegas (following the mass shooting). Although a great concept, it seems that “Open Homes” may not have enough volunteers for the rising numbers of those in need.
Uber and Lyft Offer Discounted Rides During Disaster
Before Hurricane Irma hit, both Uber and Lyft offered free rides to shelters for people in the Tampa area. After the Las Vegas shooting, both companies provided free rides to and from blood donation centers. For Uber, however, their volunteer efforts came following backlash in recent years after they doubled prices during Hurricane Sandy in 2012 as well as surged rates to 7x during a bad snow storm in 2013. With an onslaught of negative publicity, Uber is taking steps to make up for bad press, which takes a bit of altruism out of their provided aide.
Apple and Google’s Donations and Fire Crisis Map
Google and Apple donated a combined $1.5 million to people and businesses currently affected by the California Wine Country fires. Google also noted that its Crisis Response Team launched real-time alerts about the fire on Google Search as well as a crisis map highlighting road closures and locations of shelters.
The Takeaway
Tech companies aren’t perfect, but it’s encouraging to see them using their muscle for good when and where it counts. Through financial donations, like those orchestrated by Facebook, or by peer-to-peer services like Airbnb and Uber, these companies can deliver aide quickly in the wake of disaster and tragedy.
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Photo Credits: Shutterstock / Uladzik Kryhin, Shutterstock / Jag_cz, Shutterstock / Benoit Daoust