In 2022, immediately after Hurricanes Ian and Nicole, our engineers and forensics specialists visited Florida and other impacted areas along the Eastern Seaboard to evaluate the damage and aid recovery efforts. This work continued through 2023. We also sent a team to perform reconnaissance work after a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria.
In 2023, we formalized a partnership with the American Red Cross to provide financial support to the organization’s disaster-relief campaigns through a donation-matching program. Thornton Tomasetti now matches staff donations to the Red Cross up to a total annual contribution of $100,000. Employees can contribute to specific campaigns or allow the charity to allocate the funds where they are most needed. This program enables faster response to disasters and doubles the impact of employee donations.
This year, $18,000 in combined donations from the firm and our employees went to relief efforts after multiple earthquakes shook southern Turkey and northern Syria, resulting in widespread loss of life and infrastructure damage. The firm also made donations for relief after Category 4 Hurricane Idalia swept the Big Bend region of Florida (which encompasses our Tampa office) at Category 3 strength.