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Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Starbucks Corp., the world's largest
coffee-shop chain, said it will donate $2 to South Asia relief
efforts for every pound of Sumatra coffee it sells in the U.S.
and four other Western countries next month.
In addition, the Seattle-based company will donate $100,000
to relief organizations, and its stores in Thailand gave all
their profits yesterday to help victims of the earthquake and
tsunamis that struck South Asia on Dec. 26. Dallas-based Kimberly-
Clark Corp. said it's donating $100,000 in cash as well as health-
care products to help survivors.
Starbucks and Kimberly-Clark join Amazon.com Inc., Coca-Cola
Co., FedEx Corp. and Pfizer Inc. among U.S. companies that have
taken steps to provide aid to more than 3 million people in
Africa and Asia who are in need of food and medicine following
this weekend's disaster. More than 80,000 people have died, with
more than half of the fatalities in Indonesia.
``Over the next week, FedEx will be shipping approximately
200,000 pounds of medical supplies from the U.S. to both Colombo,
Sri Lanka, and Jakarta, Indonesia,'' on behalf of four relief
organizations, spokesman Ed Coleman said yesterday.
Amazon.com, the world's largest Internet retailer, had
collected $3.5 million as of 11:30 p.m. New York Time through a
link on its home page that lets customers make donations to the
American Red Cross. Coca-Cola, the world's largest soft-drink
distributor, said it is providing bottled water and other
emergency supplies in Indonesia, India and Thailand.
$220 Million Pledged
Thousands of people are missing across the region, and
deaths from diseases such as dysentery and cholera may mount
unless clean water, food and shelter are provided soon, relief
officials said. Governments pledged at least $220 million in cash
and an equal amount in supplies, transport and military help,
according to the UN.
New York-based Pfizer, the world's largest drugmaker, said
yesterday it will donate $35 million in cash and medication,
including its Zithromax, Zyvox and Diflucan anti-infectives,
matching the aid the U.S. government has said it will provide.
Other U.S. companies that have announced donations include
Citigroup Inc., the world's biggest financial services company,
which said yesterday it will provide $3 million in aid. Drugmaker
Abbott Laboratories said it will provide $4 million in funding
and prescription drugs and nutritional aid.
Cisco Systems Inc., whose equipment conducts 70 percent of
the world's Internet traffic, said the San Jose, California-based
company and its employees are donating at least $2.5 million to
relief efforts. PepsiCo Inc. said it has allocated $1 million to
relief work in the region.
it is donating $100,000 to the Red Cross and will send
antibiotics such as its Tequin drug and other medicines to the
region.
Wells Fargo & Co., Computer Associates International Inc.,
First Data Corp. and Symbol Technologies Inc. also announced
donations in the last few days.
In addition to Amazon.com, other Internet businesses,
including Google Inc., the most used Web search service, placed
links on their sites for people wanting to make contributions.
``They're playing a huge role,'' American Red Cross
spokeswoman Kara Bunte said. ``Corporate partners like Amazon and
MTV are coming to us and asking ways they can support our relief
efforts.''
Web Donations
Other Web companies, including Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft
Corp.'s MSN either collected donations or provided links to sites
where people could make contributions. Mountain View, California-
based Google made a rare exception to its policy of maintaining a
Spartan main page by adding a link titled ``Ways to help with
tsunami relief'' and giving it prominent display.
Time Warner Inc.'s America Online placed a highlighted link
on its welcome page that allows members to make donations,
spokesman Nicholas Graham said in an interview. AOL is also
donating $200,000 to relief efforts, and the company is matching
employee donations up to a total of $50,000, he said yesterday.
EBay Inc., the largest Internet marketplace, was working on
how it could help in the best way, spokesman Hani Durzy said
yesterday. He said the company's foundation will make a gift to
relief efforts in Asia and EBay was informing sellers of ways
they can place items up for sale with proceeds going to
charitable organizations.
--With reporting by Greg Ahlstrand in Hong Kong, Steve Matthews
in Atlanta, Demian McLean in Washington, Nicole Ostrow in New
York, and Greg Wiles in San Francisco. Editor: Todd.
Story illustration: For more stories about the Dec. 26 earthquake
and tsunamis, see EXTRA <GO> .
To contact the reporter on this story:
Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles at (1)(323) 782-4234 or
epettersson@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Glenn Holdcraft at (1)(609) 750-4616 or
gholdcraft@bloomberg.net.
coffee-shop chain, said it will donate $2 to South Asia relief
efforts for every pound of Sumatra coffee it sells in the U.S.
and four other Western countries next month.
In addition, the Seattle-based company will donate $100,000
to relief organizations, and its stores in Thailand gave all
their profits yesterday to help victims of the earthquake and
tsunamis that struck South Asia on Dec. 26. Dallas-based Kimberly-
Clark Corp. said it's donating $100,000 in cash as well as health-
care products to help survivors.
Starbucks and Kimberly-Clark join Amazon.com Inc., Coca-Cola
Co., FedEx Corp. and Pfizer Inc. among U.S. companies that have
taken steps to provide aid to more than 3 million people in
Africa and Asia who are in need of food and medicine following
this weekend's disaster. More than 80,000 people have died, with
more than half of the fatalities in Indonesia.
``Over the next week, FedEx will be shipping approximately
200,000 pounds of medical supplies from the U.S. to both Colombo,
Sri Lanka, and Jakarta, Indonesia,'' on behalf of four relief
organizations, spokesman Ed Coleman said yesterday.
Amazon.com, the world's largest Internet retailer, had
collected $3.5 million as of 11:30 p.m. New York Time through a
link on its home page that lets customers make donations to the
American Red Cross. Coca-Cola, the world's largest soft-drink
distributor, said it is providing bottled water and other
emergency supplies in Indonesia, India and Thailand.
$220 Million Pledged
Thousands of people are missing across the region, and
deaths from diseases such as dysentery and cholera may mount
unless clean water, food and shelter are provided soon, relief
officials said. Governments pledged at least $220 million in cash
and an equal amount in supplies, transport and military help,
according to the UN.
New York-based Pfizer, the world's largest drugmaker, said
yesterday it will donate $35 million in cash and medication,
including its Zithromax, Zyvox and Diflucan anti-infectives,
matching the aid the U.S. government has said it will provide.
Other U.S. companies that have announced donations include
Citigroup Inc., the world's biggest financial services company,
which said yesterday it will provide $3 million in aid. Drugmaker
Abbott Laboratories said it will provide $4 million in funding
and prescription drugs and nutritional aid.
Cisco Systems Inc., whose equipment conducts 70 percent of
the world's Internet traffic, said the San Jose, California-based
company and its employees are donating at least $2.5 million to
relief efforts. PepsiCo Inc. said it has allocated $1 million to
relief work in the region.
it is donating $100,000 to the Red Cross and will send
antibiotics such as its Tequin drug and other medicines to the
region.
Wells Fargo & Co., Computer Associates International Inc.,
First Data Corp. and Symbol Technologies Inc. also announced
donations in the last few days.
In addition to Amazon.com, other Internet businesses,
including Google Inc., the most used Web search service, placed
links on their sites for people wanting to make contributions.
``They're playing a huge role,'' American Red Cross
spokeswoman Kara Bunte said. ``Corporate partners like Amazon and
MTV are coming to us and asking ways they can support our relief
efforts.''
Web Donations
Other Web companies, including Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft
Corp.'s MSN either collected donations or provided links to sites
where people could make contributions. Mountain View, California-
based Google made a rare exception to its policy of maintaining a
Spartan main page by adding a link titled ``Ways to help with
tsunami relief'' and giving it prominent display.
Time Warner Inc.'s America Online placed a highlighted link
on its welcome page that allows members to make donations,
spokesman Nicholas Graham said in an interview. AOL is also
donating $200,000 to relief efforts, and the company is matching
employee donations up to a total of $50,000, he said yesterday.
EBay Inc., the largest Internet marketplace, was working on
how it could help in the best way, spokesman Hani Durzy said
yesterday. He said the company's foundation will make a gift to
relief efforts in Asia and EBay was informing sellers of ways
they can place items up for sale with proceeds going to
charitable organizations.
--With reporting by Greg Ahlstrand in Hong Kong, Steve Matthews
in Atlanta, Demian McLean in Washington, Nicole Ostrow in New
York, and Greg Wiles in San Francisco. Editor: Todd.
Story illustration: For more stories about the Dec. 26 earthquake
and tsunamis, see EXTRA <GO> .
To contact the reporter on this story:
Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles at (1)(323) 782-4234 or
epettersson@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Glenn Holdcraft at (1)(609) 750-4616 or
gholdcraft@bloomberg.net.