MISSISSAUGA, ON, Sept. 21, 2015 /CNW/ - The UPS Foundation,
the philanthropic arm of UPS® (NYSE: UPS) is working
with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and
the World Food Programme (WFP) to provide critical relief shipments
to thousands of refugees in Greece
and along the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia border. Air shipments of 163 metric
tons of relief supplies, including 86 tons of high-energy biscuits,
30,000 blankets, 25,000 sleeping mats and 1,000 solar lanterns
arrived on Sept. 5. The flights were
funded by The UPS Foundation as part of its UPS Humanitarian Relief
and Resilience program.
This latest emergency relief shipment is part of The UPS
Foundation's long-standing relationship with the UNHCR, WFP, other
UN agencies and non-governmental organizations. UPS serves as
UNHCR's emergency standby partner to transport critical supplies
into the hands of refugees around the world.
In addition to the UNHCR relief shipments, The UPS Foundation
also is aiding The Salvation Army, which will activate emergency
funds from The UPS Foundation to support Syrian refugees arriving
in Rome, Italy, with food, housing
and legal advice.
"The refugee crisis is heartbreaking and strikes at the very
fabric of our global community. We committed early on to support
our humanitarian partners in transporting life-saving supplies to
those people and communities in crisis," said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS
Foundation.
The UPS Foundation has been supporting relief efforts for
Syrian-Iraqi refugees for the past three years, including:
- Transporting personal protective equipment and medical uniforms
to Turkey for Syria Relief &
Development and providing in-kind and volunteer support for
Medshare to get medical supplies to refugees (2014)
- Partnering with UNICEF for numerous relief initiatives
including: packing and transporting via 17 ocean containers 23,400
winter clothing kits for Syrian children in Irbil, Iraq (2014); arranging charter flights
to Erbil, Iraq with items
including therapeutic foods, tents, mats, water sanitation kits and
health kits for more than 40,000 refugees in the Kurdistan region (2013); packing and
transporting 180,000 items of clothing into 20,000 winter clothing
kits, including hats, scarf, mittens, coats, thermal underwear,
socks and boots to Lebanon and
Northern Iraq (2013)
- Becoming a founding member of the UNHCR Innovation Circle and
introducing the UPS Relief Link program, to enhance last-mile
tracking of relief supplies for refugees to ensure equitable
distribution of food and non-food items (2013)
- Working with UNHCR to bring 28 ocean containers to Gaziantep,
Turkey with mobile warehouses,
sleeping mats, water cans and blankets (2013)
- Providing in-kind transportation of 394 metric tons of food,
supplies and winter clothing for Syrian refugees in support of
UNHCR (2013)
- Partnering with Shelterbox USA
to deliver 11,750 kilos of shelter supplies in Lebanon (2013)
- Deploying skilled volunteers to southern Turkey as part of the World Food Programme's
Logistics Emergency Team to assess capacities of ports, roads and
airports along key supply lines in support of Syrian refugees
(2012)
The UPS Foundation's Humanitarian Relief and Resilience program
provides communities with crisis recovery support, from disaster
preparation to urgent relief following an event through post-crisis
rehabilitation. In 2015, The UPS Foundation committed $10 million in funding, technical and in-kind
services to support a broad range of disaster resilience
initiatives to strengthen preparedness, response and post-crisis
recovery. In 2014, The UPS Foundation assisted with more than 263
shipments to 43 different countries to help with disaster response
and recovery efforts.
For more information about The UPS Foundation's Humanitarian
Relief and Resilience Program, visit UPS.com/Foundation.
About The UPS Foundation
UPS (NYSE: UPS) is a global leader in logistics, offering a
broad range of solutions including the transportation of packages
and freight; the facilitation of international trade, and the
deployment of advanced technology to more efficiently manage the
world of business. Since its founding in 1907, UPS has built a
legacy as a caring and responsible corporate citizen, supporting
programs that provide long-term solutions to community needs.
Founded in 1951, The UPS Foundation is responsible for facilitating
community involvement to local, national, and global communities.
In 2014, UPS and its employees, active and retired, invested more
than $104 million in charitable
giving around the world. The UPS Foundation can be found on the web
at UPS.com/Foundation. To get UPS news direct, visit
pressroom.ups.com/RSS.
SOURCE UPS Canada Ltd.