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GM donates $750,000 to Japanese earthquake relief efforts

General Motors announced this morning that their GM Foundation has approved an immeadiate donation of $500,000 to the American Red Cross as a part of the relief efforts in Japan following the earthquake, tsunami and string of nuclear explosions.

This most recent half-million dollar contribution is the second large cash donation from the GM Foundation, as the American automaker originally sent $250,000 to the Red Cross as part of their Disaster Responder program when the earthquake hit on March 11th. In addition to the three-quarters of a million dollars in cash donated (which is, by the way, more than double what Nissan donated in cash for relief efforts), General Motors has set up a website where employees can contribute personally from their work stations.

The GM Foundation has been providing financial support to the victims of natural disasters for over 30 years, with their most recent efforts including the earthquake victims in New Zealand, earthquake/tsunami victims in Haiti and flood victims in the United States (specifically Tennessee and Kentucky). John T. Montford, Chairman of the GM Foundation and Senior Advisor for Government Relations and Global Public Policy, had this to say about the most recent contribution to the Japanese relief effort:
"Humanitarian relief is an important part of the Foundation’s work and we’re answering the call for help in the wake of such terrible devastation. There is remarkable compassion among GM employees, and I know that same spirit will make a difference in helping the Japan relief effort.”

General Motors is the first of the American automakers to contribute to the Japanese relief effort, with Toyota, Honda and Nissan each making donations of their own ($3.7 million from Toyota and Honda, $370,000 from Nissan). Subaru and Mitsubishi were also both affected by the earthquake and following tsunami but those two Japanese automakers haven’t made official announcements thus far.

TorqueNews.com will continue covering the disaster in Japan, bringing you more automotive news as it becomes available.

Other Japanese disaster news:
Nissan updates the world on their post-earthquake status
US auto industry hit by supplier shortages in wake of Japanese Tsunami
Toyota update on damage done by the Japanese earthquake
Honda issues a statement on damages caused by the earthquake and tsunami
Toyota suspends production to honor tsunami victims, place safety first
Toyota stock trading in New York affected by Japan earthquake

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