PornHub’s offer to “plow” Boston reminds us of the power of private charity

A snowplow pushes hail from the road during a storm in Westminster, Colo., north of Denver on Wednesday, May 18, 2011. The storm prompted tornado warnings in the area but none touched down. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

The east coast was pounded by a nasty blizzard Tuesday and one of the cities hardest hit was Boston.

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The porn website PornHub offered to plow the streets of Boston for free. From Boston Magazine, “When Boston plow truck drivers get to work clearing snow during tomorrow’s big storm, they will have some help—from PornHub.”

Pledging to assist anyone who “wants to get plowed,” the adult entertainment site says it is sending out a fleet of branded trucks to clean the city’s streets and parking lots for free.

“The Pornhub team understands that by this time of year, most cities have run up their budget in snow removal,” Pornhub Vice President Corey Price tells Boston, “and we thought we’d lend a hand in getting our fans plowed.”

The cheeky service, which is only being offered in Boston and New Jersey, is slated to begin when the flakes start falling overnight and continue for the duration of the storm, Price says. Each of the trucks—he says there are more than two dozen of them—will have the porn website’s black, white, and orange logo on their plows and doors.

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In most places, snow plowing is done by local governments. However, the costs of snow removal can pile up over a year.

Why would PornHub, which obviously features a much different kind of “plowing,” want to get into the snow removal business? For starters, it’s good public relations. Journalists like me are writing stories about it. Plus, the branded trucks help advertise their company’s name.

These are incentives for companies to get involved in charity, and obviously PornHub is far from the only company to want to make such contributions. Some of the most well known examples are McDonald’s support of the Ronald McDonald House Charities and Wendy’s support of adoption and foster care. Recently, Lyft donated $1 million to the ACLU after President Donald Trump’s travel ban was passed.

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Private charity by companies has even proved to be better at disaster relief than the government in some circumstances. The most recent example was last summer’s flooding in Louisiana when private companies and volunteers did everything from rescue people, often delivering relief supplies better than government entities.

While it is unlikely that Boston will ever agree to be plowed by PornHub, no one should ignore the efficiency and effectiveness of private charity, which has often proved to be better at cleaning up disasters of many types than government.

What do you think?

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