Let's face it.  Any rehabilitation of Michael Vick, the former star quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, will be a long and difficult, if not impossible task.  He just left federal prison after serving 23 months for his role in financing and participating in a dogfighting ring.  The notoriety and heinous nature of the crime will make it very tough to change public perception toward Vick.  However, he's determined to try.  As part of the sentencing, Vick will donate money to charitable animal rights groups.  Vick, in consultation with his lawyers plans to do more including tv interviews, forming a charitable group of his own, and various public service announcements.

The Michael Vick case may be instructive for any business that's suffered from a bad reputation and seeks to rehab through community service and effective communication.  Most likely, if your company has suffered through such a nightmare, you want to put in place a program that will resurrect the company as well as its reputation.  The plan should be carefully planned and perfectly executed.  Most importantly, it should be done PRIOR to any PR disaster.  That way, you can implement your plan before the bad PR catches too much of a foot hold with the public. 

Rebuilding trust and confidence in your company or brand takes time and a great deal of effort.  It also takes consistent, transparent messaging that the problem has been acknowledged and you're taking steps to correct it as well as avoid similar issues in the future.