Jump to navigation
  • News Feed
  • Services
    • 3BL Professional
    • Sponsored Series
    • 3BL CSRwire
    • ReportAlert
    • Green Bond Alert
    • Special Announcement
    • Custom Webcasts
  • Community
    • TriplePundit
    • 3BL Forum
    • CEO of the Year Awards
    • 100 Best Corporate Citizens
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Search
  • News Feed
  • Services
    • 3BL Professional
    • Sponsored Series
    • 3BL CSRwire
    • ReportAlert
    • Green Bond Alert
    • Special Announcement
    • Custom Webcasts
  • Community
    • TriplePundit
    • 3BL Forum
    • CEO of the Year Awards
    • 100 Best Corporate Citizens
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Search

Search form

Header Nav

  • Login

Helping Japan in the Best Way Possible

Helping Japan in the Best Way Possible
Chad Tragakis
Friday, Apr 1st, 2011

Just over a year ago, in the aftermath of the worst natural disaster ever to befall Haiti, I wrote about the generous and inspirational commitments that individuals, organizations and corporations were making in response. I also wrote about the very best way to helpin times of disaster, based on lessons long learned by government, NGOs and others in the disaster response and relief community.

Now, in the aftermath of the worst natural disaster ever to befall Japan, I feel compelled to revisit some of those same themes and learnings. It’s unfortunate that just a year later, we are faced once more with a seemingly unprecedented crisis and the prospect of a long, hard recovery and rebuilding process. If there is any glimmer of a bright spot here for humanity, it is that when times are their worst, people and companies are often at their best. And, with each disaster, we have the benefit of knowing what worked – or didn’t – in previous instances.

According to the latest data collected by the Business Civic Leadership Center, response by the corporate sector has been incredibly strong – more than $200 million dollars in aid committed in just over 10 days. If giving continues at this pace, it is on track to surpass business support for disaster relief efforts following the January, 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Individual giving to major relief agencies is also picking up, totaling more than $64 million just one week after the disaster. And that’s a very good thing, because the cost, by any measure, is going to be severe, even for as advanced and industrialized a nation as Japan. Experts now estimate the cost could reach $309 billion, making it the world’scostliest natural disaster ever.

Most telling for me about the true need and real plight of those affected was the appealI received from ChildFund International, an organization that I support. On an ordinary day, it noted, ChildFund Japan raises funds for the programs it implements in developing countries around the world… but today is no ordinary day. For the first time in its history, ChildFund Japan launched an emergency response effort for its own country.

continue reading at ResponsAbility

Chad Tragakis, Senior Vice President, Hill & Knowlton, Washington. Author at the blog ResponsAbility

  • Chad Tragakis's blog

CSR Bloggers

Alice Korngold - Korngold Consulting

Andrea Learned - Learned On

Benjamin Comer - Pharma Executive

Beth Bengston - Hale Advisors

Celesa Horvath - Making Sense of Responsibility

Chris Jarvis - Realized Worth

David Chase - Forbes

David Connor - Coethica

David Williams - Health Business Blog

Dorothy Davis - All Energy All the Time

Dr. Scott M. Shemwell - Governing Energy

Elaine Cohen - CSR Reporting

Future 500

James Epstein-Reeves - Citizen Polity

Joe Waters - Selfish Giving

Julie Urlaub - Taiga Company

Kate Olsen - Companies for Good

Marc Gunther - Green Biz

Marcy Murninghan - Murninghan Post

Matthew Rochte - Opportunity Sustainability

Maxwell Drommond International - Human Capital: A Global Perspective

Megan Strand - Cause Marketing Forum

Monika Mitchell - Good-B

Paul Klein - Forbes

Stephen Heiser - Nuclear Knowledge

Tracy Lloyd - Emotive Brand

Wayne Visser - CSR International

Will Henley - Responsibility Inc.

© 3BL MEDIA, LLC

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Site Map
3BL Media, LLC
136 West St Ste 104
Northampton, MA 01060
  • Contact Us
  • About Us

Find Us on Social

Latest from Leading Brands

  • 3BL Professional
  • 3BL CSRwire
  • 3BL ReportAlert

Editorial & Leadership

  • TriplePundit
  • 3BL Forum
  • 100 Best Corporate Citizens