Apple Accepting Red Cross Donations to Aid British Columbia Wildfire Relief Efforts

Apple is accepting donations to the Canadian Red Cross through iTunes to help people affected by ongoing wildfires in British Columbia. The province declared a state of emergency in July.

iTunes users in Canada can donate $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, or $200 with a credit card tied to their account. Apple will transfer 100 percent of the proceeds to the Canadian Red Cross, which is providing relief efforts for the wildfires.

As of August 6, the BC Wildfire Service said 132 wildfires were currently burning in the province, with a total of 900 wildfires since April 1. As of August 9, over 3,600 personnel were working to fight the fires, which have forced some residents to evacuate due to dangerous conditions, including poor air quality.

Apple says iTunes credit cannot be used to make a donation. The fine print also says donations may not qualify for a tax deduction.

Apple routinely accepts Red Cross donations through iTunes for natural crises, including wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alberta last year.

Via: iPhone in Canada

Tags: Canada, Red Cross

Top Rated Comments

(View all)

adamjackson

23 months ago

Wasn't aware of this occurring in British Columbia. Will be donating.

Donate directly to a non-profit in the area. Red Cross notoriously squanders money. Look into their wastes in Haiti and New Orleans. Millions of dollars that went nowhere. I wish Apple would stop featuring them.

Rating: 13 Votes

btrach144

23 months ago

Stop donating money to the Red Cross. Apple really needs to stop this partnership. Red Cross is corrupt and wastes millions of dollars each year. Less than 90 cents of a dollar actually go directly to those in need. Anything less than 90 cents is typically seen a poorly run charity that likely has 6 and 7 figure executives running it.

Rating: 10 Votes

luvbug

23 months ago

I agree. I recall my Dad, who was a medic in the Korean War, telling me how bad the Red Cross was. As an example: He was on a ship during the war, and the Red Cross was charging the GIs for a cup of hot coffee!! Find a local BC charity instead, so your donation goes to those in need.

Rating: 4 Votes

merkinmuffley

23 months ago

Is Apple - a company with $262 billion sitting in off shore accounts matching the donations? If they want to match donations maybe they could soak their cash in water and drop it on the fires.

Rating: 4 Votes

garirry

23 months ago

Yeah I agree these "non-profit" organisations are so huge now that it's not worth donating to them anymore since a lot of the money is going straight into management and such.

Rating: 2 Votes

2b1ask1

23 months ago

Agreed 100%:

http://www.npr.org/2016/06/16/482020436/senators-report-finds-fundamental-concerns-about-red-cross-finances

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article23061570.html

Rating: 2 Votes

CaliKev

23 months ago

Wow, I had no idea until I googled how much the CEO makes. Over $650,000! Jeez, hopefully Apple finds a better partner when it comes to these sorts of donation efforts. Also, why can only Canadians donate? Victims in Haiti, Japan and other countries were able to receive support from people from around the world. Why is Canada any different?

Rating: 2 Votes

Chrystal Ocean

23 months ago

Wasn't aware of this occurring in British Columbia. Will be donating.

Donate to the Red Cross or directly to BC charities. Whichever you choose, British Columbians like myself really appreciate the support. Thank you!

P.S. The BC Government also supports having donations sent to the Red Cross and includes a link to them for donations. Here's the July 14th article on the government website:
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2017TRAN0200-001311

Rating: 2 Votes