As we watch the unfolding of the horrific earthquake in northern Japan and the resulting tsunami, we want to know how we can help. For my community, we were under a tsunami watch this morning and saw in the media how California has been escaping the recent surge of seismic activity around the “Ring of Fire.” Disasters can happen anywhere and at any time. We should invest in preparation. We should also be deliberate in how we respond when disasters do happen. When I woke this morning to see photos of the water sweeping onto the land, I did what so many do and I went to the Red Cross website. But I paused and thought, wait, be patient, learn what the short term and long term needs will be and what will be the most effective delivery system for the responses. This can be challenging to do as we are human and have compassion for those in need.
In the disaster world there is the four step process of prepare, relief, recover and rebuild. A vast amount of resources pour in for the relief stage. This is both a necessity and an emotional reaction. In recent years we have seen organizations reach a point where they don’t need any more donations for relief. By that time people have gone back to their regular lives and the aftermath of a disaster are far from top of mind. This is when the most critical support needs to be given to work towards normalcy. Normalcy of communities functioning, people working, schools operating, systems moving forward… in many instances a new normal but how life goes on productively. The Business Civic Leadership Center has done much work around business resumption after a disaster.
To give an example, when I was at Disney, we supported each of the steps. Ongoing financial and in-kind support to and participation with the Red Cross and other relief agencies for preparedness training and infrastructure is critical. In the case of Hurricane Katrina and the Sichuan Earthquake, we supported initial relief activities, but where we made the biggest impact was investing in the rebuilding with organizations that the Company had a history and share common values. In the gulf, major support went to rebuilding the 16 Boys & Girls Clubs that were destroyed. In China, to the China Youth Development Foundation to rebuild schools that were destroyed. In both cases the cash donations were supplemented with in-kind support as well as volunteer participation by employees. These efforts helped communities move on, be productive and was consistent with the work to help children in need.
Helping is not just money, it is also time. First and most importantly, when a disaster hits let the trained do their jobs and stay out of their way unless asked to help. There will be many opportunities as the disaster unfolds to get involved. There are organizations globally that are equipped to utilize unaffiliated volunteers such as HandsOn Tokyo and the HandsOn Network in the US. In California, the State has an emergency management program to engage the public co-coordinated by the California Emergency Management Agency and California Volunteers. Volunteers are integral in rebuilding whether its neighbors helping one another or through civic and non-profit organizations.
Have a disaster plan. A personal plan and a philanthropic plan. We have our earthquake kits, extra water and supplies at home. But with so many disasters under my belt, so to speak, I now know the best way I can help is to be patient. See where the support is flowing and see the gaps. Learn how the causes and organizations that we are passionate about and regularly support have been affected. Then thoughtfully choose how we can make the biggest impact.
Jeff Hoffman provided excellent insights into disaster relief and response. One of the “ah-has” the American Red Cross had during and after Hurricane Katrina response was that we needed better solutions for… (a) Cultivating partnerships before disasters and (b) Pre-training corporate employee volunteers to help with large scale local or catastrophic disasters. The American Red Cross developed the “Ready When the Time Comes” program to address both these needs. It is a corporate/organizational partnership model in which employee/organizational volunteers are pre-trained as “surge” disaster responders. The program has developed hundreds of local partnerships and trained thousands of volunteers and has been implemented by dozens of Red Cross chapters in markets around the country.
Bruce brings important information about the work of the Red Cross on preplanning and preparation. Between the earthquake in Japan and last week’s tornados, the time is now to invest in emergency preparedness.