Apple gives free iPods to kids affected by California wildfires
By Nilay Patel 
posted Dec 4th 2007 6:36PM
posted Dec 4th 2007 6:36PM
It's a small, small consolation, but Apple has donated free iPod nanos to over 100 kids in a California school district who lost their homes in the recent wildfires. Affected high school students in Poway, California, received the devices after Steve Boyack, husband of a Poway city councilwoman, noticed that fundraising and gift drives organized by the city targeted mainly young children and older folks and decided to write Steve Jobs an email at his famously public email address. Steve didn't write back, but Michael Foulkes, Apple's senior manager for state and local government affairs, soon had the iPods on their way. Apple being Apple, it's declined to comment on the story, and Boyack says the company didn't want any publicity to begin with, saying, "It was strictly from the heart and just wanting to help." Love or hate Apple, you've got to respect them for trying to provide at least a little holiday cheer.
it's a nice gesture and all, but what if those people didn't have the foresight to carry out their computers filled with music in the evacuations?
Well, it's very convenient, you see. Just head to your nearest Apple store, buy an iMac, and repurchase your entire music collection via iTunes!
Must just be sheer coincidence.
Anyway, in non-cynical comments, I suppose these kids can at least sell them on eBay and use the cash towards trying to piece together their broken existence. I truly wish the best to these guys. Definitely tough.
Well, if its from iTunes, then they can request the Tunes to be sent to them again. Apple usually lets you do this once, and if you explained it to the Support person, I'm sure they would be happy to do it.
I hear that the iPOD's will be pre-filled to the brim with great "toonz" like "Burn Baby Burn", "Ring of Fire", "Eternal Flame".
Ah how Apple warms the heart.
@BigBirdUK
you're a dick
@Alex - if so, you'll never get to suck me!
Sure they'll need to get a new computer and music, but a gift is a gift. I don't see how you can complain about that. I don't think it's fair to say that Apple gave them iPods so that the kids would go buy Macs and buy music on iTunes. That's ridiculous.
@bigbirduk
"if so"? you don't sound very sure that you have a dick...
if even i.c weiner can't see if bigbirdUK has a dick or not, i guess no one else can.
alot of people didnt recive the reverse 911 calls we did but we only had a few minutes to evacuate luckly the fir stopped about 100 yards away from my house
Very generous of Apple to ease the pains of kids that used to live in $600,000 homes.
i feel so bad for those people, they get such a terrible product after a tragedy. apple, your humor is sickening
As nice as that is of Apple, how exactly is one supposed to get music onto an iPod if their computer burned up? Not to mention the hard drives with their Limewire shared folders - er, CD collections I mean.
If they had computers before the fire its a safe bet that they will buy a new computer rather than live the rest of their life without one.
Last time I checked iPods work with Macs or PCs so I don't understand what the big deal is.
Nice gesture by apple, but what's the point? if they might not even have computers...
Yeah, and for that matter, why donate food to a homeless shelter? I mean, you may be donating a can of corn, and those people may not even like corn. So why do it?
I sincerely can not believe the logic of some of the people here. Someday you'll suffer a tragedy, hopefully you remember your views today.
Ah you see, an iPod nano is not a NEED. Corn can feed people, even if they don't like it, they can need it simply because it is food. If I was starving, I wouldn't dare choose what foods I eat or don't eat. It LOOKS like Apple donated those nanos so that the families might look into Apple computers to replace their burnt ones...seems like a nice PR thing to me, even if they didn't comment on it.
Apple, nice gesture, but donate computers first. Then donate nanos. How about both?
Thats nice but where are they gonna get the computer to sync it to if there houses were destroyed.
Thank goodness for Ebay!!
AAAAAAAAWWWWWWWW
Didn't these used to be banned in some schools in CA? I know cell phones are and kids do listen to ipods in class. I remember a Poway parent that spoke about these things in an article not too long ago.
no we are allowed to use them during breaks and lunch at poway high
this just shows u that apple products are as cheap as ashes from those burnt houses.
free ipod? more like an attention to get the media on their products.
Goes to show you don't have an education.
Remember kids, "U" isn't a word!
doo u git it, oar doo I neeeeed 2 giv u ur retard armor!
Sweetie, I'm not writing a book report for you or anyone on this website. I am just commenting an article. As long as I could get my message acrossed the web, Eye kood type lyke diz eNd yu wood still underztand meeh.
I could certainly understand you, but a) it makes you look dumber than you probably actually are and b) I'm less likely to actually care about your opinion. What is it, two extra letters? Are you really saving that much time by typing 'u' instead of 'you'? Also, it's "attempt" not "attention"
"more like an attention to get the media on their products." Did you read the story? "Apple being Apple, it's declined to comment on the story, and Boyack says the company didn't want any publicity to begin with"
@ GraigJ:
Yeah... but what you might not have noticed is.... they failed to comment, yet engadget wrote up a whole story that YOU'RE HERE COMMENTING ON.
So they still got the publicity.
Make more sense now?
@Prokanda
Because I'm sure the kids would rather not have the iPods than let Apple get a little publicity.
um i was just about to say the jist of all of the above comments, but they beat me to it...to sum up, i agree with the above statements from the other commentors
It's safe to rationalize that people will be replacing computers and will eventually want another mp3 player... hence this is a nice, human gesture.
It's very concerning that like 4 of you people all had the same asinine reaction to a solid act of humanity.
If DirecTV gave them free service for a year would it be an insincere or meaningless gesture? Would it be 1) helpful and 2) encouraging to, eventually, focus again on rebuilding a normal life?
You people suck balls.
Definitely the best non-smartass remark so far. I agree, whether you love or hate Apple, it was a very nice gesture on their part. I feel sorry for all the families that were impacted by the fires.
How many iPods shipped to Bangladesh Cyclone victims, out of interest?
(....and yes I know the likelyhood of them having a computer in the first place is significantly lower, but surely it would encourage them to pop down to the local PcWorld or similiar, surely etc etc etc)
I completely agree. Bottom line is in a worst case scenario they can plug it into one of their friend's computers and get some tunes that way. Like you said, at some point hopefully they will get another computer and have a nice shiny iPod waiting to be used on it. It was very cool of Apple to hook these kids up.
Am I the only one that doesnt were iGlasses?
Isnt it evidently clear that these iPods are being funded by their advertising budget?
Giving television to people that lost their homes? Yes, I would be deeply offended. "You lost your home? Here's 500 channels of advertisements to make up for it." ...Moron.
@BigBirdUK - you sir are an idiot -
Did you even read the story - "Steve Boyack, decided to write Steve Jobs an email at his famously public email address." Apple does not proactively provide disaster relief and it wasnt for PR since they did not send out a press release about it.
I know it may be confusing to you but Apple is not a charity and does not hand out iPods to disaster victims on a daily basis. They are not the RedCross and should not be expected to repond to every single disaster around the world, thats just stupid.
They are actually a business and made an exception this one time as a good will gesture to local Californians, thats all.
Whens the last time any of you gave time or money to charity you freakin losers.
Carlos,
It's PR, and of the viral flavour imho. I'm allowed to have an opinion, and you are allowed to disagree. Beyond that, your petty childish rants say more about your slavish devotion to Apple then they do your ability to debate a point constructively.
3rd gen and current gen nano before you call me an Apple hater.........
@BigBirdUK
My post was all about how off base your post was - has nothing to do with wether you or I are Apple fans/haters.
Apple responded to an e-mail, thats all - why would you expect them to do anything about "Bangladesh Cyclone victims" Apple is not set up for disaster relief.
Even if this is PR its PR about giving - in my opinion any news about people or companies giving is good news no matter the motive. Hell if it drives others to give isn't that a good thing? Better than another story about how someone shot someone else.
I know your trying to be cynical but you can do better than attacking a news story about giving to others. Even if it was PR driven guess what 100 kids still got some iPods after their house burnt down, thats more than either of us have done individually.
Carlos, do you honestly think that Apple would have given them the iPods if they knew that no one would talk about it?
@everyone
I believe that the problem here is that this is a no win situation. If i were a manufacturer and heard of a group of people in my local area, I would think to myself, "Wow, I feel sorry for them, maybe i could help them out." And what do i have lying around my warehouse? My product. In theory, there is no way for poor Steve to win. Some will say that he did it entirely out of good will, which probably isn't entirely true, although I'm sure it is the majority of his motives. I mean honestly, who doesn't give things away to charity to make themselves feel a bit better. Secondly, OF COURSE THERE WAS A THOUGHT TO PR! However, it is not as "sleazy" as some people would have you believe. Think about it this way. Assume that he did give all of those iPods out of kindness. It would then only be a side effect that other people would hear of it. Finally, I don't know of anyone who bases their computer purchases off of whether or not the company has given things away.
You all are arguing so polar, when it really is something in between.
@BigBirdUK
Finally, just one more thing. Your argument is illogical.
Your idea is that Apple should have anonymously donated something to this school, or that we should have never heard that Apple did anything at all. However, if this were true, Engadget wouldn't have posted this article, you wouldn't have read this, and you wouldn't have formed your current opinion.
And you would probably still bash apple by claiming that they never do anything nice for others.
Therefore, you and your argument are contradictory.
QED. Gotta love indirect proofs.
Steve@mac.com
Thanks, captain obvious!
San Diego Super Chargers!
Not to worry. All the iPods come pre-installed with every album by "Firehouse."
Damn - beaten to the punch by one goddam minute.
I hope they put Firestarter by Prodigy on them too!
We didn't start the fire
Build a Fire - KLF
I just listened to Firestarter 10 minutes ago!
...twisted Firestarter...........
We don't need no water let the mother fuc*er burn!
@BigBirdUK, Blackstar, NBurt, nklr, RedBull Runner, and everyone else mocking the victims with fire-related music,
I hope your houses get burnt down too, cause obviously you have no idea what it's like to lose your house to a fire. Like FireHouse's song, "Get a Life".
See lotzosushi, you (and several others) missed the point. No one is making fun of the victims. We are making fun of the gift idea from a corporation TO the victims. And for the record, I did almost lose my house in a fire over 25 years ago. And believe me, I can think of 50 things I would much rather have given to me if I had lost everything I own, than a music player I can't put music on cause I have no computer and can't even charge it anyway because I have no house with outlets to plug it in. If Apple REALLY wanted to make a seriously meaningful contribution, how about: Red Cross Donations, provide temporary shelters, pay for hotel stays for families, replace the Apple computers people lost, donate emergency food and water supplies? All of which I (and many others) would appreciate far more then getting to listen to mp3s again.
The irony is that Poway is one of the richest areas of San Diego, akin to a "Beverly Hills" type neighborhood. Still, a nice gesture.
A nice gesture, yes. I do have to say that Poway's residents have a broad range of incomes, rich to poor.
I lost my house. Trust me when I say my son's mood would lighten up some had he received one. It's not about fully restoring normalcy. It's about an occasional ray of sunshine so to speak. We dodged the 03 fires but not 07's and it is quite crappy to downgrade from house to apartment. We lived and guess what? Our laptops made it out. Music collection in tact. We did have time to evacuate and save a few things. I don't think anyone left their computers. TV's yes. Laptops/desktops no.
what's all this fuss about having to go to the Apple Store to purchase a MacBook and a rebuild of your entire iTunes collection?
hasn't anyone heard of LimeWire?
give and take away..
Jezbus!
Someone does something nice and you guys flip?
What? Was Apple not suppose to give out nano's because they might not have computers? Perhaps an 'evi'l company like apple shouldn't do a nice thing or two?
Do you listen to yourselves think?
Doing something nice, like say giving the families 200 dollars to buy christmas gifts is one thing.
But giving away your own product to 100 children, all the while making sure the press knew that this deed was done, giving some pathetic ass comment like "It was strictly from the heart and just wanting to help." all during the all-too important holiday season is about as sleazy as it gets.
Remember, this isnt the first time there was a fire in California. However, this is one of the few "fortunate" times that there was a fire around the holiday season. Apple walked right in to this advertising gold mine.
Ruben:
Did you read the part about Apple NOT wanting media attention on this? Wait, of course you did. And you're just going to say that they want people to think that and blah blah blah... just be thankful any company thought to help in some way, shape or form.
Allan - did you read the part where the *media* reported that Apple did not want media attention?
Now go figure.............
How can you be so naive to suggest that this wasn't going to get picked up. If Apple had *really* wanted to avoid the attention, they would have made a cash donation anonymously.
@BigBirdUK and all of his cohorts
I believe that the problem here is that this is a no win situation. If i were a manufacturer and heard of a group of people in my local area, I would think to myself, "Wow, I feel sorry for them, maybe i could help them out." And what do i have lying around my warehouse? My product. In theory, there is no way for poor Steve to win. Some will say that he did it entirely out of good will, which probably isn't entirely true, although I'm sure it is the majority of his motives. I mean honestly, who doesn't give things away to charity to make themselves feel a bit better. Secondly, OF COURSE THERE WAS A THOUGHT TO PR! However, it is not as "sleazy" as some people would have you believe. Think about it this way. Assume that he did give all of those iPods out of kindness. It would then only be a side effect that other people would hear of it. Finally, I don't know of anyone who bases their computer purchases off of whether or not the company has given things away.
You all are arguing so polar, when it really is something in between.
All im saying is dont things at face value.
BTW: Microsoft giving the troops the Zune was a PR stunt as well.
@BigBirdUK
Finally, just one more thing. Your argument is illogical.
Your idea is that Apple should have anonymously donated something to this school, or that we should have never heard that Apple did anything at all. However, if this were true, Engadget wouldn't have posted this article, you wouldn't have read this, and you wouldn't have formed your current opinion.
And you would probably still bash apple by claiming that they never do anything nice for others.
Therefore, you and your argument are contradictory.
QED. Gotta love indirect proofs.
It's good to hear you came out OK. Good wishes to you and your family.
Why not a Zune?Or a ZEN?Cowon maybe?clix? Not much of an ipod fan. I've tried but didn't care for them
Give me a Zen, even if for nothing, and I'll burn my own fracking house down.
ummmmm having read that I can see it might be misinterpreted as encouragement to get a Zen.
To clarify, I'd burn my house down *with* the zen inside...........
Thank you for taking the time to read my clarification.
"Why not a Zune?Or a ZEN?Cowon maybe?clix? Not much of an ipod fan. I've tried but didn't care for them"
Because the councilwoman from Poway contacted Apple and not Microsoft, Creative, etc?
Reading comprehension FTW.
Wow-wee. 100 ipods. What does it cost Apple to make an ipod, $100?
So what are we talking about? $10,000? I wonder how Apple can afford to donate such an enormous sum of money. If it weren't such a puny sum of money for a company like Apple, I wouldn't yell "publicity stunt!"
"They didn't want any publicity... straight from the heart... blah blah..." Puh-leeeez.
Anyways, go ahead and rank me low, but that's my opinion, whether ya like it or not.
(And before anyone accuses me of not donating, I did donate to Red Cross, even though I don't trust Red Cross. lol)
I couldn't agree more anon. Bangladesh Cyclone killed 1500, injured 15,000, displaced 280,000 families.
Why doesn't Apple offer victims of that disaster too? It could pre-fill each one with self help advice etc. Ok, so I admit, there are a few logistical issues but the point is there to be made, surely.
And before everyone starts to flame me about the specifics of the logistical issues, can I point out how ubiquitous mobile phones are in these countries, even in rural areas!
DID YOU DONATE $10000?
Hmm, you do have a good point, that isn't all that much for Apple to donate... But what's to say they aren't also donating in other ways?
And yes, this iPod donation may seem insignificant cost-wise and is probably good for PR, but it also makes these kids happy. And even if Apple did it for themselves more than they did it for the kids, it's still a nice thing to do.
Also, when you suggest that Apple should donate iPods to people in foreign countries, that's a little unreasonable. I suspect the only reason they're donating iPods to these kids in California is because Apple is a California-based company.
Yep only $10,000. But that's $10,000 more than Microsoft or Dell or Creative.
And I didn't know Red Cross accepts sperm donations...
... I don't think its much about the money... more so the gesture. Sure you donated, but to save people, but to pretend you have a heart? Why didn't you donate all of your blood?
@Fruition - and Apple takes how much revenue from "foreign" countries?
Read the story - a local burn area resident requested the iPods. For all we know he may have only asked for 75 and Apple sent 100.
Point is Apple is not the Red Cross - they are not a charity and do not give out aid on a daily basis to disaster victims around the world.
But to your point I don't understand why you attack Apple without first doing a little research - even though Apple is under no obligation to donate money they have in the past added a Red Cross icon on the iTunes home page to encourage people to donate money. Apple has actually raised millions for the Red Cross to help victims of the recent tsunami and hurricane disasters.
Anonymouspimp and BigBirdUK you two are a pair of douche bags
Carlos, you've got a foul mouth. The point we are making is that Apple perfectly know it's all about PR. You know it, and I know it too.
I'm well aware they are not obliged to. I'm just pointing out that their largesse is small beer compared to, say, the Wellcome trust or Bill G's current venture. And people should comment in that context!
@BigBirdUK
I am commenting in that context - did you miss the part where Apple helped the Red Cross raise millions of dollars??
Your agenda is obvious so please don't come on these forums to spread your stupidity - charity is charity not matter how big or small the donation is and no matter if its for PR or not.
In this case someone asked Apple directly for iPods and Apple responded by giving 100 iPods, nothing more nothing less - how does this story have anything to do with what your talking about. You expect someone to ask for iPods and then all of a sudden Apple opens the bank and dumps money all over disaster victims around the world.
Giving is a good thing no matter what the motive - giving should always be encouraged without prejudice.
Instead of spreading your BS on these forums why don't you start writing some letters to Apple, Microsoft, Bill Gates etc asking them to donate to what you fell is a worthy cause.
So BigBird, you would expect Apple to DENY this person his request. Imagine the negative publicity of coming back to him and saying, "Sorry, we can't help your poor fire victims." Even not responding at all could hit the media and be seen in a negative light. So they honored this guy's request and sent what he asked for. IT'S NOT LIKE APPLE SETUP THIS FIRE SO A GUY COULD ASK THEM TO GIVE IPODS SO THEY COULD GET PUBLICITY.
Get over yourself.
hehe come on people! I expected to be "lowest ranked" by now! Anyways...
@Sergio: you are right, you got me, I did not donate $10k. But like I said, I did donate. (which is probably more than you did... but who knows) However, I thought what I did donate was generous considering how much I make... However, I also don't make billions upon billions of dollars a year. If I did, I can guarantee I would have forked over more than $10k!
@Fruition: Good point, I don't know if they didn't donate more in other ways. But until I hear otherwise, I will keep my opinion as it is. I hope they did donate more... cuz I really do like Apple, and would like to see them get some better PR. Lately all I hear about them is how "un-green" they are which is lame.
@Nate: How do you know Microsoft didn't donate? And even if they didn't rumor has it Bill Gates is a pretty friggin generous guy. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is actually a pretty amazing organization, you should look it up. As far as your sperm donation joke goes... I don't think they do... but I know they accept cash.
@ipodrulz: you don't get a response, you probably wouldn't understand it anyways.
@Carlos: Congrats on the high ranking! Isn't it amazing what calling people with unpopular opinions (however valid they may or may not be) "douchebags" can do. Anyways, re: the rest of your post, you do have a good point. I don't know how many iPods the guy asked for. But yeah, as far as the iTunes thing goes... asking other people to donate to Red Cross was extremely generous of them. I urge everyone to donate to the red cross (see how generous I am?) Duh... Carlos be smart.
@Aaron: That is one of the weirdest responses I written in this thread. "IT'S NOT LIKE APPLE SETUP THIS FIRE SO A GUY COULD ASK THEM TO GIVE IPODS SO THEY COULD GET PUBLICITY." Oh really? brilliant lol... But hey, looks like everyone thought that response was genius haha... Anyways, if Apple didn't respond or donate the iPods, I highly doubt the guy asking for the charity iPods would have run to Fox/CNN/NBC/Whatever and said "Apple is a terrible company! They didn't donate 100 iPods to my neighborhood!"
Anyways, it's been fun. I still think if Apple was going to donate, they could have donated more. They are sitting on billions. $10k probably gets lost in the rounding during weekly accounting. I hope they did donate more, and who knows, maybe they did!
There’s another story inn the news about Steve Jobs. Namely, Disney appears to be consolidating its hold over family-related websites. The NewsVisual article on Disney’s acquisition of iParenting Media http://www.newsvisual.com/newsvisual/2007/12/directors-at-di.html talks about how their Board of Directors and Jobs.
I can't seem to find it ... it probably came before this donation of 100 nanos, valuation ... $10,000, but ... "The Hewlett-Packard Co. Foundation made a $2 million grant to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, and as much as $3 million more may be raised through employee donations and matching grants by the foundation." Source:
http://www.topix.com/state/ca/2007/10/corporations-make-donations-to-wildfire-victims
I guess ... the question is WHY can't iFind it iGadget? iT seems to me that this would make a whole lot more iMpact than the 100 iPods. At least, that's what iThink.
There has been many rumours that Steve Jobs himself donates under an alias.
You think he might use the alias "ipodrulz"?
Hey.. you never know
Perhaps because this is not a philanthropy site but one focusing on...wait for it...gadgets and technology! 2 million dollars, while great, are not gadgets. iPods are gadgets. See? Simple.
Nice to see where all those dollars from the product (RED) iPods go...
Apple: Here kid. Sorry about your house.
Kid:Wow thanks mister! Wait... how am i supposed to put music on it my computer melted in the fire...
Apple: Fuck...
I think this is the bes possible way Apple could spend $5 million who, who cares about the 30,000 Africans dieing everyday from Aids?
Apparently not the Poway City council. Oh, and last time I checked, 100 x $249 is a little less than $5 million.
what about ipods for hurricane katrina victims?
easy enough write Apple a letter or better yet why don't you buy the iPods and donate them yourself
this isnt about whether Apple is the best company ever. it's just a story, relax.
are the kids at ALL better off?
yes
is apple at all better off?
probably but WHO CARES
forget that this is about apple at all, the name just inspires arguments for no reason.
Nano. The cure for...everything. I need a new house, but a nano will suffice.
Hmmm...
I would have thought Apple would have given out more, and why not iPod touches, since they have WiFi, that could come in use.
The lack of logic I have witnessed in some of these posts is terrifying.
Apple goes and donates to a good cause, we all agree on that. So where's the disagreement?
That they don't donate to EVERY cause, or that they didn't donate ENOUGH? By this logic, no could ever donate anything because they can't help everyone. It's preposterous. Who are any of you "haters" to cast stones against Apple for choosing when, where, and how to distribute their charitable funds? this is for Apple and it's shareholders to decide. Just because they did or didn't donate to a specific charitable cause, because of a specific natural disaster, is no justification for vitriolic insults to be hurled their way.
They did a good thing here and that is that.
They are not in business to donate to any cause, they chose to do so because they are a california based company and this tragedy affected california families, it's close to the holidays, and it was a simple small gesture to help. No company can help everyone every time, you have to do what you can when you can.
Just my thoughts. I say bravo to Apple, I hope they've set an example that others will follow.
I'm happy Apple (or any other corporation) contributes in the face of disasters. Good for all of them. I'd just like to see iGadget acknowledge some MAJOR PLAYERS in the industry who did a hell of a lot more than Apple. But they won't, because ... well, that evidently wouldn't be as interesting.
HP made a donation of 2 MILLION dollars and their employees will "probably" raise another 3 MILLION dollars to help victims of these wildfires. Is it too goddamn much that iGadget ALSO acknowledge these efforts? Or does the Apple name alone make 100 iPods so more newsworthy than millions of real dollars being contributed by a company and it's employees that's not named Apple?