Verizon donates $60,000 and phone service to aid California wildfire victims
In a move that reeks of opportunism, Verizon Wireless has just announced that they will be donating $60,000 to the California Red Cross. The money will be used to help victims of the recent spate of wildfires. The massive disaster has affected millions, leaving a path of destruction. Verizon seems poised to respond, offering free calling to affected customers in addition to the monetary grant. It’s a thoughtful move, but given the sheer scope of the problem, $60,000 seems a bit low. Not to undermine the importance of charity during times of need, but come on Verizon…you can do a bit better, no?
Any donation should be applauded. They didn’t have to do anything. $60,000 might not sound like a lot, but at least it is going to the Red Cross and earmarked for specific branches and not some random charity that won’t use the money for good. Also, communication (especially after a disaster) is priceless. Free service is beyond priceless in this situation. From the article:
Other ways that the company is responding to needs of residential, business and government customers include:
* Donating 260 cell phones and 25 BroadbandAccess wireless cards to 16 government agencies throughout Southern California.
* Setting up banks of toll-free phones for evacuation shelters at the National Orange Show Fairgrounds, Building Gate No. 5, 590 Arrowhead Ave., San Bernardino.
* Deploying an emergency mobile communications command center at the shelter at the National Orange Show Fairgrounds. The calling command center should arrive later this week at the site, where evacuees and emergency response personnel will be able to make local and long-distance phone calls.
* Providing a high-capacity data line to the local government agencies operating at the National Orange Show Fairgrounds evacuation shelter.
* Offering free call-forwarding to Verizon landline customers who have been forced to leave their home or business because of the fires. (To set up the service, residential customers should call 1-800-483-1000; business customers should call 1-800-483-2000.)
* Installing one cellular repeater to enhance cell phone signal strength and capacity at the Irvine fire command center.
* Installing one Cell on Light Truck (COLT) at the Orange County command center and one at the Santa Clarita command center to increase cellular network capacity.
* Deploying employees equipped with 100 Verizon Wireless phones, 20 laptops and seven BroadbandAccess cards to Qualcomm Stadium, El Toro High School, the Orange Show Fairgrounds and Del Mar Racetrack relief centers to allow evacuees to make calls, check email and charge their wireless devices.
* Verizon Business has set up audio and net conference calls for state and local agencies and educational institutions. The calls will be used for emergency response, to coordinate firefighting strategy and disaster relief efforts, and conduct daily business during the crisis situation. Many of these conference calls have 100 connections or more and are kept as standing calls so emergency responders can dial in for updates throughout the day.