On February 22nd, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 hit Christchurch, New Zealand. Yesterday, Christchurch resident and Harvest customer Stephen McCarthy sent us a note:

Hi Guys. Just wanted to say thanks for your product. I live in Christchurch, New Zealand and have a small design studio here in the CBD that was hit by the earthquake last week… we had to literally run from our building just before a load of bricks fell on my desk…. here’s a link of us getting out – that’s me putting my shoes on outside: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teicHEyJbf0

The building is munted, we won’t get back in to get our stuff and I luckily grabbed my laptop so can continue with some stuff. It’s been awesome having Harvest and ability to have access to files, projects and timesheets…. it means I can carry on…. so thanks a bunch.

Yours sincerely,
Stephen McCarthy
New Zealand
http://www.stephenmccarthy.net

 

 

As the email circulated around the team, two things occurred to us. First, we were shocked by the footage and curious to learn more about the incident. Second, as a company, we all wanted to help in some small way.

We started to think of ideas: should we give them a free month, send them something, what ways can we help? Ultimately, we decided on 3 months of Harvest for the 8 customers identified in Christchurch, so these customers can focus on the important matters at hand. However, beyond just affecting 8 customers, we wondered if we could help out more simply by raising awareness of this incident to the Harvest community.

As a web-based service, we are in the unique position to serve customers from all over the world. We are all connected as fellow entrepreneurs, designers, developers, craftspeople, customers, businesses, and humans. As we build the community around our company, we want it to be more than just about business. If our community of passionate users can also help each other along the way, then all the more meaningful it is for everyone.

You can learn more about the earthquake here:

If you would like to help, consider a donation to Red Cross New Zealand or just simply leave a comment to connect with fellow Harvest users in Christchurch, NZ.