On Monday May 12, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake, the biggest that China has experienced in decades, shook Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province in China and was followed by numerous aftershocks. The quake impacted numerous provinces neighboring Sichuan and its effect was felt over 1,500 kilometers away in Beijing. Latest reports indicate the earthquake has killed more than 67,183 people with 21,000 people either buried or missing and 5 million people estimated homeless, but these numbers are rising on a daily basis.
At this moment of sorrow and tremendous loss, Nike’s thoughts go out to all the victims and their families who have been affected by this quake.
Regarding the safety of Nike colleagues and affiliates based in Sichuan, it is a consolation to learn that all of our 51 Nike colleagues in Chengdu and their families are safe. In the meantime, we are also continuing to look into the condition of staff working for Nike partner retailers in 200 doors across Sichuan, and as of the time of publishing Nike has had no reports of people being harmed.
As a company with 28 years of history in China, Nike is very much an integral part of the country and its people. In this time of crisis, we are working with Mercy Corps and the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA，中国扶贫基金会), a Chinese NGO supervised by the government’s State Council, both long standing Nike partners.
Together with Mercy Corps we are assessing the needs and the best way for Nike to respond to the situation in Sichuan, both short and long term.
In order to offer immediate support Nike China announced Friday it will provide financial aid to Sichuan Earthquake relief as well as longer term support, which is critical to help communities rebuild emotionally, physically and economically. Nike China has committed RMB 10 million in cash and RMB 20 million in product to organizations including the CFPA. The initial cash and product donation will be used to support the immediate rescue and recovery and the remainder of the funds will be donated as a longer-term support for communities rebuilding. Mercy Corps will be using the curriculum that Nike and Save the Children created for the China migrant kids program to localize their disaster response program "Youth in Emergencies", which uses sport to help youth recover from the trauma of natural disasters.
We will continue to update Nike staff on this situation as it evolves. In the meantime, if you would like to donate money to the relief effort please click through to our partner’s websites for further information.
Outside China: http://www.mercycorps.org/
Inside China (renminbi currency): http://www.fupin.org.cn/en/index.asp