Harvey, Irma – CCOs helping companies respond

As the recovery continues in Texas and Louisiana from Hurricane Harvey, Florida and points north are bracing for landfall of Hurricane Irma.

Hundreds of companies have donated many millions of dollars in cash, goods and services to help employees, customers and communities affected by Harvey, and they are bracing to do the same for Irma victims.

Nearly 50 Page member companies participated in a conference call in which members and their teams shared information on their responses, including:

- Corporate donations to the Red Cross and other relief organizations as well as to employees impacted in the region.

- Providing a company match for employee contributions to relief organizations that doesn’t count against the existing company match limits.

- Providing mechanisms for employees to help fellow employees with donations.

- Commitments to pay hourly employees who are unable to get to work.

It was clear from the conversation that members were taking tips from each other that enabled them to better advise their companies on the response.

I would also like to pass on a request from Page member Lori Bergen, founding dean of the College of Media, Communication and Information at the University of Colorado to help students attending the Valenti School of Communication at the University of Houston. This message is from Temple Northup, director of the Valenti program:

I have created an emergency scholarship fund for our students. We have about 2,000 majors in the school, and almost all of them work at least part time to support their education. Under normal circumstances, paying tuition and other associated costs can be hard. For some, Harvey has made it that much harder.

By supporting this fund, I hope that we can reduce the need to choose between continuing college and acquiring basic necessities. 100% of your donations will be used for students in need. And let me be honest, it is really needed. I have already gotten emails from students who have lost their homes, their cars, and their possessions.

If you can spread the word to others in the communication field, that would be great. I am hoping to show our students that not just Houston and the school care for them, but that the communication field more broadly. Anything can help. Simply choose the "Valenti Scholarship Fund" on this page: https://giving.uh.edu/communication/

Thank you so much. With every donation we receive, we will tweet out to show everyone that #CommCares.