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Die Zerstörungen und Überflutungen, die der Hurrikan Harvey in Texas und Louisiana hinterlassen hat, sind gewaltig. Um den dort lebenden Menschen zu helfen, hat sich erneut auch Apple an einer Spendenaktion beteiligt und bietet seit dem Wochenende eine Spendenmöglichkeit über seinen iTunes Store an. Auch wenn sich die Verfügbarkeit derzeit ausschließlich auf die USA bezieht, sind die Erfolge, die damit erzielt wurden schon jetzt beachtlich. Apple CEO Tim Cook hat zu dem Thema in der vergangenen Nacht eine E-Mail an seine Mitarbeiter verschickt, in der er verkünden konnte, dass Apple inzwischen 3 Millionen US-Dollar an Spenden aus eigener Tasche und über den iTunes Store generiert hat. Den Kollegen von BuzzFeed liegt die Mail im Wortlaut vor:

Team,

As you know, Hurricane Harvey is having a devastating impact on Texas and Louisiana. Our thoughts are with our employees in the storm zone and the millions of people whose lives have been disrupted by rain, wind and floods. I want to update you on some of the things Apple has been doing to help, and ways that you can get involved.

On the ground, Apple's global crisis management team is working to support our employees directly affected by the flooding in Texas. The team is in close contact with Apple employees in the Houston area, and they're actively doing everything they can to assist, including moving some employees and their families to safety. Apple employees in the Houston area have generously been helping people displaced by the flooding by opening their homes to team members and their families, and in some cases, assisting in rescue operations. We're also proud that the US Coast Guard is using Apple products in those efforts, with nearly two dozen USCG helicopters specially equipped with iPads to help coordinate search and rescue teams.

As Harvey was making landfall, we put in motion critical donation programs. Apple is making it easy for customers to donate directly to the American Red Cross through the App Store, iTunes and apple.com, and we're matching employee donations two-for-one. Thanks to your generosity and that of our users, Apple has helped raise more than $1 million in just the past few days. That's in addition to the $2 million Apple pledged to the Red Cross over the weekend.

Though our stores in the Houston area are still closed today, we're working hard to get as many as possible open tomorrow to serve people who have been impacted by the storm. Our teams are eager to help with problems large and small, and they know there are lots of people in that area who need it.

I was in Austin the day before Harvey came ashore, and the team was already bracing for the storm and the long recovery. Today that work continues. At our Austin campuses, we are kicking off a donation drive in partnership with the Central Texas Food Bank and Caffè Macs to collect food, diapers and personal hygiene items -- all things that are critical in the aftermath of a storm of this magnitude.

Because Texas is home to more than 8,700 of our coworkers, the storm's impact is felt by all of us. There's still much to do, and Apple is committed to help.

Tim

In der Vergangenheit hat Apple die Spendenaktionen über den iTunes Store einige Tage nach den USA auch international geöffnet. Es darf davon ausgegangen werden, dass dies auch dieses Mal wieder geschieht und Nutzer dann auch hierzulande die Möglichkeit haben, auf diese Weise den Menschen in Texas und Louisiana zu helfen. Selbstverständlich sind auch Spenden auf anderen Wegen jederzeit willkommen.