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Penguin Random House is to make a "substantial donation" to the Red Cross to aid relief in the Philippines for those affected by Typhoon Haiyan, chief executive officer Markus Dohle has announced.
Meanwhile a fundraising campaign has also been set up by a group of British authors, called Authors for the Philippines.
The PRH initiative was sparked by concern for the company's Author Solutions division, which is based in Cebu, near to where the greatest devastation has taken place. Although there have been no reported casualties among the 1,400 staff working there, Dohle said‚ in a letter to Penguin Random House staff worldwide, that over 100 employees had family members who have been seriously affected. Many others are still trying to find out more information about their loved ones.
Author Solutions will also be helping local employees whose families have been directly impacted by the tragedy. In addition, Dohle has said that Penguin Random House will expand existing matching gift programmes to equal individual employees' contributions to the aid fund.
He finished the letter to staff by expressing his sympathies for those in the Philippines and his hope that such efforts will help the country begin to recover.
The Authors for the Philippines campaign, led by Young Adult writer Keris Stainton, is an online auction of a variety of book-related items, including signed books, manuscript critiques and character names, to raise money for the Red Cross' Typhoon Haiyan Appeal. A similar campaign for the Japanese tsunami in 2011 raised over £12,000. Author interested in offering an item for auction should email authorsforphilippines@gmail.com.
Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines on Friday 8th November, affecting over 11 million people.