Corporate Support Boosts Haiti Relief Effort:

FedEx, Health Care Companies Step Up For Direct Relief International’s Quake Response

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—Direct Relief International’s efforts to assist victims of the Haiti earthquake were today bolstered by FedEx, which is covering all air freight shipping costs for  Direct Relief’s response, as well as dozens of other corporations that are providing cash or in-kind contributions.

Using its legendary logistical capabilities, FedEx Express will transport 20 pallets of specifically requested medical aid from Direct Relief into Port-au-Prince, where it will be received by partner clinics and hospitals providing care to survivors of the 7.3-magnitude seismic event. More than two million people are reported to have been affected by the quake and subsequent tremors.

“FedEx is an extraordinary corporate partner, once again is repurposing its amazing resources and people to help in a severe crisis,” said Thomas Tighe, President and CEO of Direct Relief International. “FedEx’s particular expertise is essential in emergency operations that require speed and precision in delivering supplies.”

In addition, more than 35 corporations, including many of the major healthcare companies or their philanthropic arms, are donating materials or financial support for Direct Relief’s Haiti earthquake response.  Google, which provides in-kind advertising support through its Google Grants program, included Direct Relief among the organizations to help on a link from its home page.

Amgen, which today made a $100,000 contribution to the Haiti relief effort, and Bristol-Myers Squibb, which previously funded Direct Relief’s emergency fund, are among the major cash contributors.

The support from these companies enables relief efforts to be scaled up and stretches further the financial contributions from thousands of individuals who also have contributed over the past 24 hours.

A list of companies supporting Direct Relief’s relief efforts in Haiti are listed on Direct Relief’s Haiti Earthquake Response update page.

Two large containers of medical material aid from Direct Relief International arrived in Port-au-Prince on Tuesday as part of ongoing humanitarian health programs in Haiti. Those shipments are now being used for earthquake response. Additional support is being arranged based on the unfolding assessments of need and delivery logistics.

About Direct Relief International
Founded in 1948, Direct Relief is a Santa Barbara, California-based nonprofit organization focused on improving quality of life by bringing critically needed medicines and supplies to local healthcare providers worldwide. Direct Relief has provided more than $1 billion in privately funded humanitarian aid since 2000, including more than $150 million in assistance in the United States. It has earned a fundraising efficiency score of 99 percent or better from Forbes for the past eight years, and is ranked by the Chronicle of Philanthropy as California’s largest international nonprofit organization based on private support. For more information, please visit www.DirectRelief.org.