UPS and FedEx are pressing ahead with logistics support for US and international charities andaid organisations.
UPS will create Logistics Emergency Teams (LETs) for American Red Cross chapters in Atlanta,Houston, New Orleans and the San Francisco Bay area, expanding the reach of its urgent humanitarianrelief programme. The company will provide logistics expertise, transportation and warehousing tolocal Red Cross Disaster Services Coordinators in the event of a large-scale emergency.
To support planning for disaster response and post-crisis recovery efforts, assigned UPS LETscoordinators will work with each Red Cross chapter on needed logistics by providing skilledvolunteers, transport of supplies to affected areas and allocating space for storage.
“The LETs initiative leverages the capacity and resources of UPS’s US network to support the RedCross with our mutual goal of providing more effective and efficient relief for devastatedcommunities,” said Myron Gray, UPS senior vice president of US operations. “The LETs program withthe American Red Cross in the US is another component in UPS’s continued commitment to leveragingits people, logistics expertise and global network to provide urgent humanitarian relief all aroundthe world.”
UPS said it has partnered with the American Red Cross for three decades to improve the safetyand well-being of local communities through financial, logistical and volunteer support.
“The time to plan and prepare for a disaster is not when a disaster strikes,” says MichaelBrown, vice president at the American Red Cross. “Research shows that when the proper humanitarianrelief processes and systems are in place ahead of a devastating event, lives are saved. We haveseen the benefits of partnering with UPS’s proven global logistical capabilities in a number ofurgent humanitarian situations and we are eager to expand this relationship.”
Meanwhile, one year after the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti, FedEx announced that it hasso far provided more than $2 million in-kind and cash support for the earthquake relief efforts inthe country and is still supporting global relief efforts through the Red Cross, Heart to Heart,Direct Relief International and Water Missions.
FedEx shipped over 500,000 pounds (weight) of aid supplies and goods to Haiti within the firstseven days after the earthquake on January 12, 2010, and a total of one million pounds within thefirst month after the quake. Since then, a further 300,000 pounds of supplies has been transportedto Haiti.
The company stressed the importance of long-term relationships with relief organisations forrapid response, and being able to leverage its transportation and logistics expertise. Each year,it sets aside space for more than 4,000,000 pounds of charitable shipping.
