2011 Global Humanitarian Relief:

Japan

Following the 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan in March 2011, The UPS Foundation pledged US$1 million in relief for earthquake victims there.  This amount funded in-kind transportation of emergency supplies, the services of trained humanitarian logistics personnel, and financial support.

Africa

In July of 2011, the United Nations Office for the Coordinating of Humanitarian Affairs reported that the Horn of Africa was experiencing the most severe food crisis in the world, with more than 13 million people in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti in need of urgent life-saving assistance.  The UPS Foundation responded with a supplemental donation of US$100,000 to UNICEF, a long-time philanthropic partner of the Foundation, a US$150,000 donation to CARE; and a special charter flight by UPS Airlines from Europe to Africa with 50 metric tonnes of food for the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), another long-time philanthropic partner of UPS. In the weeks that followed, the Foundation worked with UNICEF to coordinate in-kind transport of an additional 60 metric tonnes of food from Europe to a distribution

United States

In January of 2011, The UPS Foundation established Logistics Action Teams (LATs) in four U.S. cities to support the American Red Cross. LATs are modeled on the World Food Programme’s Logistics Emergency Team (LET) program, which utilizes logistics experts from private companies including UPS in times of crisis. The UPS Foundation activated a team for the fist time to support the American Red Cross’s relief efforts for victims fof tornadoes in the southeastern region of the U.S., and also pledged an additional $100,000 to the American Red Cross (beyond an existing $50,00 commitment) and made a $50,000 contribution to the Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter of the Red Cross, also earmarked for emergency relief for tornado victims.

Capacity-building Support:

We have increased our capacity-building support in recent years due to growing  need for efficient logistics and transportation. In 2011, we:

• Chaired the World Food Programme’s Logistics Emergency Team and lent logistics experts to various relief sites around the world
• Helped the American Red Cross preposition trailers of relief supplies around the gulf coast region of the U.S. prior to the hurricane season
• Work with UNICEF to provide insecticide-treated mosquito nets in the Democratic Republic of Congo and prevent the spread of malaria
• Donated transportation to the Aidmatrix Foundation, which connects relief agencies with donors of materials or goods. 
• Provided CARE with 25 project recommendations for increasing the efficiency of its supply chain
• Showed the American Red Cross how to increase the pallet capacity of an existing warehouse by 94% using 17% less space
• Provided the Salvation Army with layouts, drawings, and recommended specifications regarding door dock heights, turning radiuses, pallet storing, and forklift clearances for a new warehouse in Haiti
• Provided logistics and financial support to organizations rebuilding homes after tornadoes struck the city of Joplin, Missouri, utilizing similar processes documented by UPS for the St. Bernard Project that built homes for victims for Hurricane Katrina