Comments on: Afterquake — music to remind us that help is still needed

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sun, 17 May 2009 08:47:55 +0000

@K.Allen: Thanks for letting us know. I’ve known Peter Goff for a while from here in Suzhou and would also vouch for Sichuan Quake Relief as being a stand-up organization doing absolutely amazing work.

33% of the proceeds seems a bit low though. Assuming proceeds mean profits, as is the usual definition, I don’t think anything using a tragedy like this as a major marketing push should be less than 100% non-profit in intent. Otherwise you’re profiting from the emotional reactions of others to a horrible situation. Ethically, it doesn’t fit my framework. But I guess everyone needs to answer that themselves.

By: K.Allen

K.Allen — Sun, 17 May 2009 07:59:31 +0000

Both Abigail and Dave have agreed to give at least 33% of the proceeds to Sichuan Quake Relief (www.sichuan-quake-relief.org). As for how much of that SQR then passes on to those in need, well none of the donations go to fund administrative costs. All admin costs (office rental, utilities, staff wages) come from private donors who specifically want to fund that part of the organization. This allows SQR to put all of the donated funds into specific projects e.g. the Guangji Preschool & Kindergarten rebuild, Chengdu Sports Aid (sub group that gives displaced kids something to do on the weekend), food relief, etc. Also, the founder (Peter Goff) allows any donor to go with the group to buy supplies, and then see those supplies delivered. I can’t vouch for any other organization in the area, but I can vouch for this one.

By: Wil

Wil — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:51:09 +0000

I’ve been a fan of Washburn’s music for about five years. She has been taking ancient Chinese poetry and setting it to music for the last decade but this is something different. There have been several good stories about the earthquake and her work on NPR’s Morning Addition and All Things Considered over the last couple weeks. Here’s one link.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/chengdu/2009/04/earthquake_soundscapes_1.html

By: Stephen

Stephen — Wed, 13 May 2009 08:56:05 +0000

Reminds me of the song from the episode of South Park where they build the ladder to heaven: “Where were you when they built the ladder to heaven?”

I wonder how much of the proceeds actually make it to the victims after being filtered through these organizations?

By: From Toronto

From Toronto — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:33:45 +0000

A link to article on Globe And Mail, how a Canadian media report the rebuild:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090511.wchina0512/BNStory/International/home