The last 5 days have been very difficult ones. IT all began with a text message asking if I had heard about the earthquake in Shanghai’s People Square, then that dozens of buildings in Shanghai were being evacuated… to learning about the fact that the vibrations that had been felt in Shanghai were actually a result of a Sichuan 7.8 scale earthquake and at that point I thought the worst… how could an earthquake travel that far? how many buildings would have been destroyed? I have experienced earthquakes before, and sure it is possible that they record a few hundred or even thousands of miles… but I had never heard of a quake that had shook buildings 1500 miles away. and then the pictures came across the screen, and then the calls for help went out, and then the messages piled into my inbox with titles like:

Hands On Shanghai: Sichuan… Subject: Sichuan needs volunteers Subject: Fwd: Sichuan Quake: How Companies Can Help? Subject: RE: CSR response to the earthquake in Sichuan Subject: Hands On Shanghai: Sichuan Earthquake

and then the messages from people wanting to get involved began coming in….

i am interested in volunteering in the rescue efforts in sichuan province. do you know any organization that could use me?

I am traveling this summer with a friend to China and I am hoping to help all that I can. We are hoping to lend a hand and would love to help in this very terrible disaster. Email me back with anyway that I can help.

and so on. It is a terrible irony that it is in times like this that we are shown some of the best humanity has to offer.. We have received many calls and many emails offering support , but in another terrible irony, we have had to literally tell people to slow down, to wait, that to get on a plane and try to help is actually what is not needed This is a situation that I found myself in 3 years ago when a tsunami slammed into India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and other areas. Myself and 20 others were ready to take the first flight. We had our packs, tents, and cans of tuna ready… but we were told to wait… that we would be more harm that good. for those that do not understand what is occurring now in Chengdu, it is important to understand that there are tens of thousand of trained and specialized people from hospitals, military, EMS,etc who are all focused on one thing. Saving people Roads are out, electricity is off, and all available planes are being routed to the scene to deliver cargo and personnel that will support that effort…. So, for now, it is important to resist that urge to get on a plane and let the trained professionals do there job, and understand that volunteers will be needed (en mass) long term, and that there will be opportunities to assist as Northern Sichuan/ Chongqing and Southern Gansu recover from this horrible event. Everyone appreciates the offers, and a time will come when the ask will be made for volunteers. … and you can be sure we will provide all the details as they become available.