When such a major environmental hazard hits, how could I only write one blog about it? Today I read an article on the relief efforts so far in response to last weeks Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. Specifically, this article focused on American relief efforts and the large amount of donations going to recovery efforts. Donations are expected to reach $1 billion according to Patrick Rooney, associate dean at Indiana University's School of Philanthropy. This trails only the 2010 Haitian earthquake and 2004 tsunami in Indonesia for donations to a foreign cause. Donations to the Salvation Army alone went from $300,000 on Monday to about $1 million by Tuesday. One interesting aspect of this whole donation and aid cause is how long will it last? Typically, it's estimated that 75% of donations come within three to six months of a disaster. Of course, no matter the amount of giving, the relief and recovery in the Philippines most certainly will not be complete in six months. Large amounts of this giving also depends on the media coverage the event receives. As is with nearly every new channel, foreign disasters such as this may only stay in our local news for a few weeks, until something else comes up that is fresh and will interest viewers. As bad as it is, how much longer are Americans going to care about the Philippines and its recovery? And directly going along with that, how much longer will they continue to give money to recovery efforts? While initial donations from Americans have been substantial, it will be interesting to see how much longer it continues. Certainly the American government can help in recovery efforts as much as it wants, but as this article shows, many of the current funds are coming from individual Americans that just feel the need to help. Recovery efforts will take years, and it will be interesting to see if recovery efforts last as long as they are needed. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/13/donations-typhoon-stricken-philippines/3508929/
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