Business & Tech

Flextronics Donates $250K for Japan Disaster Relief

The Flextronics Foundation writes a check for $250K to the American Red Cross—on top of the $71,190 donated by company employees.

A $250,000 check for recovery efforts in Japan was delivered to the local American Red Cross chapter by representatives of the Flextronics Foundation, the charity side of the Milpitas-based Flextronics International.

In addition to the contribution from the foundation, employees from the company gave about $71,190.

"We put out a donation drive and had people donate directly," said Thomas Ezrin, Flextronics vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility and Total Rewards.

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Two months after an earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11, the money will go toward a range of needs and services, from prefabricated housing to mental health counseling.

"At this point, a lot of it is to help with long-term recovery," said Patti Fry, chairwoman of the board of directors of the American Red Cross Silicon Valley Chapter. 

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The money will be given to the Japanese Red Cross Society for its recovery efforts after more than 15,000 individuals perished as a result of the disaster.

The Silicon Valley chapter has collected $2.5 million in donations so far for Japan. The total budget for the chapter is normally $3.7 million for the whole year, according to CEO Barbara Larkin.

The Flextronics Foundation has contributed $407,000 to the Red Cross over the past six years for disaster relief, including the earthquake in China (2009), Hurricane Ike (2008), floods in Juarez, Mexico (2006), Hurricane Katrina (2005), tsunami in Indonesia (2005).

Flextronics operations in Japan include a manufacturing site in Ibaraki and a services site in Koriyama, neither of which experienced material damage. There also were no injuries among employees and their families, according to the corporation.

For more information about the foundation, visit the website. Local grants have been provided to The Silicon Valley Education Foundation for its Stepping Up To Algebra program, The Tech Museum of Innovation’s Tech Challenge and Resource Area for Teaching’s math and science activity kits for educators.

To make a donation, visit siliconvalley-redcross.org.


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