The tragedies of Sept. 11 have become a true testament to the strength and resilience of our nation. By nature, Americans are a giving people. The response to the disasters in New York, Washington, D.C. and Somerset County, Pa. exemplifies our nation’s generosity. Whether it was aiding in the rescue efforts, giving blood, or contributing to relief funds, the outpouring of support has been truly amazing. Americans have turned a large nation into a small community, and America’s business community has taken an active role in making this possible.
NACo would like to thank all of the corporations for doing their part in rebuilding America. NACo is proud to surround itself with corporate partners that embody the American spirit. They have responded by providing assistance to communities devastated by these events. These are just a few of the examples:

• Nationwide Retirement Solutions
  Nationwide Retirement Solutions, NACo’s deferred compensation administrator, donated $1 million to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund to aid the victims of the terrorist attacks. “We made this gift on behalf of our more than 30,000 employees and agents across the country who have expressed their desire to help in the relief efforts,” said Nationwide Chief Executive Officer W. G. Jurgensen.
  
  
• Office Depot
  Office Depot, NACo’s cooperative purchasing partner, donated bottled water and a total of $755,000 to various charities. In addition, Office Depot will donate $1,000 to the American Red Cross or United Way Disaster Relief Funds for each Office Depot store grand opening held during the remainder of 2001.
  For employees called to active duty, Office Depot will — upon their return — either reinstate their previous job or provide an equivalent job. The company will also continue their vesting and pension accrual under Office Depot’s benefit package.
  
  
• ESRI
  NACo’s premier technology member, Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), which specializes in computer software and hardware for the collection, analysis, and communication of geographic information system (GIS) technology, assisted its users in New York City, Washington, D.C., and a number of government agencies with GIS support. ESRI’s technical support group in California staffed a special 24-hour a day hotline to support the affected federal and local agencies.
  
  
• Steelcase
  The Steelcase Foundation, a NACo cooperative purchasing partner, donated $50,000 to both the Disaster Relief Fund of the American Red Cross and the United Way’s September 11th Fund. They have also made a $1 million donation to the American Red Cross. Steelcase also established a Special Response Team dedicated solely to respond to the needs of dealers and customers affected by the tragedy.
  
  
• W. W. Grainger, Inc.
  Grainger, a NACo cooperative purchasing industrial supply company, donated $1 million in cash and emergency supplies to aid in the rescue and recovery efforts. The supplies included more than 50 trailers of supplies loaded with respirator masks, steel-toed boots, hard hats, safety glasses and gloves to the affected areas both in New York and Washington, D.C. Branch 551, located just 2 miles away from “ground zero” in New York, remained open 24 hours a day to provide emergency supplies to response teams.
  
  
• IBM Corporation
  NACo’s premier technology member and cooperative purchasing partner, the IBM Corporation, donated $5 million to the United Way September 11th Fund in cash, technology and technical assistance. In addition to the corporate pledge, IBM delivered Think Pads“ and desktop computers to the New York Red Cross operations center.
  
  
• Haworth Furniture
  A NACo cooperative purchasing office furniture company, Haworth, formed Haworth United to Give Support (HUGS). To show their support for the victims, survivors, and heroes, Haworth and its employees donated $1 million to the relief and recovery efforts. Haworth shipped office furniture — panels, desks, chairs and files — to the Pentagon. They also opened their offices, showrooms and warehouses in New York for those that need new work quarters.
  
  
• Microsoft
  NACo’s premier technology member, Microsoft, donated $5 million to the United Way and New York Trust’s “September 11th Fund.” Also donated were $5 million in technical services to local, state and federal governments and nonprofits in the affected areas. The American Red Cross and Microsoft developed a Family Registration site to let people in the affected areas self-register with the Red Cross, allowing the organization to match those names with the thousands of inquiries received from family and friends.
  Microsoft also participated in the development of the American Liberty Partnership, a Web site that allows people worldwide to donate money via credit card for relief efforts related to this tragedy.
  
  
• Hewlett-Packard
  The Hewlett-Packard Company Foundation donated $3 million to the American Red Cross and will match all employee donations up to an additional $2 million. Hewlett-Packard, NACo’s Premier Technology Member, also made equipment donations valued at more than $300,000 to the Red Cross, the New York Attorney General’s Office, the New York City Police Department and the New York City trauma unit.
  
  
• Verizon
  Thousands of Verizon Communications employees worked around the clock to restore and maintain service to emergency personnel, government agencies, the financial markets and residences.
  In recognition of the role cell phones and airfones played in the Sept. 11 attacks, Verizon and Verizon Wireless offered voice mail customers in the United States cassette recordings of messages they received from family and friends. Customers in lower Manhattan received a temporary replacement listing at no charge in Verizon’s 411 Directory Assistance database.
  Verizon also offered lower Manhattan free local and three-minute long distance calls. The Verizon Foundation donated $8 million to the American Red Cross Liberty Disaster Relief Fund to help the victims and their families.
  
  
• 3M
  NACo’s corporate member, 3M, gave an estimated $950,000 in products including respirators, reflective tape, hand sanitizer, hearing protection devices, grind shields and welding masks. 3M also donated $250,000 to the American Red Cross and participated in the Sept. 11th employee match program.
  
  
• Coca-Cola Company
  Coca-Cola announced a $12 million contribution to the relief effort. NACo’s Corporate Member also distributed more than 300,000 bottles of water and other products to rescue workers in New York.
  
  
• AT&T
  The AT&T Foundation donated $1 million to the American Red Cross and committed up to an additional $300,000 in funds to match employees’ donations. AT&T, NACo’s Corporate Member, provided rescue workers with $10 million in AT&T pre-paid long distance calling cards. It also gave lower Manhattan citizens and workers free AT&T long distance service from all payphones in the affected areas of New York City for the duration of the emergency. And, AT&T Wireless provided more than 2,000 wireless phones with unlimited service to relief workers and government agencies.
  
  
• Bell South
  NACo’s corporate member, Bell South, worked with FEMA to manage a 24-hour hotline in Atlanta. The hotline assisted rescuers with locating victims who had electronic communications devices. The call center recorded information from 4,000 people who received contact (via cell phone or pager) from potential survivors or knew of devices belonging to missing persons at the World Trade Center. In addition to supporting FEMA’s efforts, Bell South gave $1 million to the American Red Cross.
  
  
• Eastman Kodak
  NACo Corporate Member Eastman Kodak Company donated $2 million to the American Red Cross and ensured that badly needed medical x-ray film and other radiography products reached hospitals and medical centers in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. Employees in the document imaging division delivered the necessary equipment and technical support to recover lost and damaged records.
  
  
• Anheuser Busch
  The Anheuser-Busch Foundation and the company’s independent beer distributors donated $8.4 million to various relief funds. NACo’s Corporate Member also donated nearly 10,000 cases of canned water and more than 40,000 cases of energy drinks to aid rescue workers in New York City on the days following the attack.
  

(If you are a NACo corporate partner and would like to share your company’s response to the relief effort, please forward your story to Kandace Beamon, at kbeamon@naco.org or fax to (202) 661-8876. Financial Services news was written by Kandace Beamon, marketing coordinator, NACo Enterprise Services.)