Question
Responding to Hurricane Katrina
Sorry if this has been posted a long time ago...I missed it if it was.
Like many of you, people here at eBay have struggled to comprehend the crisis that’s unfolding in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. This disaster is upsetting for all of us – millions of lives have been affected, including many thousands of eBay Community members in the region. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.
We’ve given a lot of thought to how eBay and our Community can make an impact on relief efforts in the affected areas. I want to give you update on what we’re doing, and how you can join in
To assist the eBay Community directly, we’ve set aside $1 million which we’re putting into the hands of eBay business owners in the region. From talking with a number of them, we know that some were very fortunate and suffered minimal impact, while others were devastated. Within the next few days, we’ll deposit $1,000 into the PayPal accounts of our top 1,000 sellers who reside in the affected areas. They can either use these funds to help get back on their feet or – if their needs are met – we’ll ask them to share this money with others in their local community, either directly or through local or regional charity organizations. They know best what their community needs, so we’ll rely on them to make these dollars work as hard as possible. And we believe that getting these funds to them via PayPal will enable evacuees to access it faster.
I was probably 1,001
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Blondie, why not write to Bill Cobb and ask him where you ranked in the top 1000? Let him know that you missed the mailing since you were busy cleaning up.
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You know what Blondie... I think Elaine has an excellent idea. The response should be interesting. And with you informing them that you went through Katrina, they can't say they didn't know. Wonder how successful they were in tracking down involved sellers.
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They're going to give $1,000 each to the 1,000 eBay sellers in the area who sell the most and who likely are better off financially than many others in the regiion?
And no one thinks this is strange? What about people who could only dream of owning a computer, let alone being a top seller on eBay?
Seems like all they care about is helping the people who make them the most money. Why doesn't that surprise me ...
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Yes, why give only to the top sellers. The lower sellers are trying to make a living too and the top seller are doing much better and probably don't need it as much.
Something is wrong with this.
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Originally Posted by all4aly
You know what Blondie... I think Elaine has an excellent idea.
Too many "E" here Linda?
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I'm no FOE (Friend of eBay) but I think this is an imaginative approach to helping.
Given 1 million dollars how would you distribute it within the disaster area?
We have (as a group) helped people. Not because they were the neediest person or the most deserving but because they were one of us.
Teachers, churches, animal people and specific businesses are helping their counterpart in the storm area.
Some might be wasted, some go to people in less need than others within their community, some help people back towards independence through online selling and some might be passed on to others in need.
Not a perfect solution but helping your customers is as good an answer as I've heard in the fog of storm relief.
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From the most return for the buck, eBays aproch should work.
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Reston_Ray, you certainly have a good point there.
I think it is very good to see eBay attempt to help in some way. Does seem like a monumental task for sure.
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So solly Edale! Got carried away...