Google co-founder Sergey Brin runs secret charity GSD, a disaster-response team

As per news report, Google’s co-founder, Sergey Brin has a secret disaster-response team. The report reveals that Brin was the sole doner of Global Support and Development (GSD) which is a disaster charity. The news source identified Brin as the company's sole donor through a California court filing.

GSD’s almost half of the staff are ex-military and they arrive at disaster areas on a superyacht called "Dragonfly" to help victims. They use high-tech solutions to aid victims. GSD is headed up by Grant Dawson, an ex-naval lieutenant who was one of Brin's personal security detail for years.

The idea for GSD was apparently sparked in 2015 when yacht's captain was sailing past Vanuatu, which had just been hit by Cyclone Pam. The captain contacted Brin to ask if anything could be done to help, and Brin in turn got in touch with Dawson.

Dawson said in a speech in 2019 about GSD: "So I grabbed a number of Air Force para-rescue guys I'd been affiliated with from the security world, and a couple of corpsmen out of the [Navy] Seal teams [...] We raided every Home Depot and pharmacy we could find and on about 18 hours' notice, we launched."

GSD has 20 full-time staff and around 100 contractors.

GSD employees also enjoy perks like strawberry ice cream and fresh laundry aboard the superyacht while working in disaster areas. Apart from military trained staff, the charity also has access to technologies like drones and sonar mapping.

It was founded in 2015 and since then GSD has helped in several disasters including hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic activity. Now the company says it is helping during the coronavirus pandemic by helping set up testing in California.