SAN JOSE, Calif., December 29, 2004 - Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) and its employees are donating in excess of US$2.5 million for humanitarian relief and rebuilding efforts for those affected by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Asia and the east coast of Africa.
The donation is comprised of US$1 million contributed by the company, as well a minimum of US$1 million from the Cisco Foundation to match employee donations. Currently, Cisco employees and executives have donated over US$460,000, and the company expects this figure to reach US$1 million which will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Cisco Foundation.
The donation will be focused on immediate humanitarian relief efforts to assist local victims of the disaster. Cisco is working in concert with nongovernmental associations including the Red Cross and government agencies to determine the best allocations for the donations. Funds will also support rebuilding efforts including the potential of enhancing early warning systems for seismic activity in the region.
"On behalf of the employees of Cisco, I'd like to express our deepest sympathy and condolences to all of those affected by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Asia and Africa," said John Chambers, Cisco president and CEO. "Giving back is a key element of our corporate culture. We are a global company with a strong presence in Asia, and we see it as our responsibility to help the local communities where we have employees, customers and partners rebuild after this tragedy."
In addition to the donation, Cisco is working with the NetHope consortium, an organization incubated by Cisco and includes other companies and nongovernmental associations, to make NetRelief Kits available to its member organizations for immediate deployment to the stricken areas. These kits will provide an easy to set up and operate communications hub for disaster management where normal communications infrastructure is absent or destroyed and are augmented by NetHope with mobile satellite communications capability from Inmarsat. NetHope is in the process assessing data to identify locations throughout the region for deployment of these kits.
About the Cisco Systems Foundation
The Cisco Systems Foundation was established in 1997 by a gift from Cisco Systems, Inc. As Corporate Philanthropy's primary cash investment vehicle, the Foundation provides grants to select organizations with long-lasting, local or global impact. More information on the Cisco Systems Foundation is available at www.cisco.com/go/foundation.
