By Maria Saporta
Updated with info on donations and support from the Home Depot, the CDC Foundation, the Atlanta Humane Society and the TOUR Championship.
The UPS Foundation announced Monday that it will provide more than $1 million to help disaster relief and long-term recovery assistance to communities impacted by Hurricane Florence.
Eduardo Martinez, president of the UPS Foundation, made the announcement Monday morning at the VII Atlanta Global Health Summit: Health, Resilience & Natural Disasters at the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead.
UPS is one of many local companies and institutions stepping up to help relief efforts in North Carolina and South Carolina – the two states that got hit the hardest from Florence and its aftermath.
Arthur M. Blank, the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United also announced recently that it was pledging $1 million toward storm relief efforts. Its grant would be split between the American Red Cross of Georgia and Greater Carolinas Region as well as the United Way.
“These types of storms bring devastation that is almost unimaginable,” Blank said in a statement. “No matter the region, they disrupt the lives of kids, families, social services, schools, houses of worship and businesses in so many ways and it’s heartbreaking. So many resources, financial and otherwise, are going to be needed to help people rebuild their lives this season, and we feel a strong responsibility to help. I encourage our fans to join us in supporting this cause in any way they can.”
UPS’s pledge of aid will be given through a combination of cash grants, in-kind transportation movements and technical expertise. The UPS Foundation will provide both urgent relief, as well as support for long-term needs ranging from rebuilding to personal and financial recovery assistance.
“We started planning for this event on Monday of last week,” Martinez said in a brief interview at the Global Health Summit. “It’s become part of our fabric. We are going to be there – through the crisis and through the post crisis – during the recovery phase.”
Martinez said UPS is collaborating with FEMA and its non-profit relief partners on multiple fronts to ensure help reaches those who need it urgently. Over the long-term, additional assistance will be required to help transform affected communities into resilient neighborhoods.”
Additionally, the company has deployed skilled volunteers with humanitarian logistics expertise to the American Red Cross and FEMA, to help transportation of needed supplies and to coordinate support with multiple partner agencies providing relief.
Last year, The UPS Foundation responded to 26 major world disasters and invested more than $21 million in funding, in-kind, and technical support for community safety initiatives that included enhancing preparedness, urgent disaster response, recovery and public health strengthening. Building the resiliency that communities need to better withstand and recover from future disasters is an ongoing and strategically important aspect of UPS’s Humanitarian Relief & Resilience Program.
Also last year, The UPS Foundation provided in-kind support of humanitarian aid and relief across 53 countries – almost $6 million worth of in-kind services – including loaned experts and relief shipments leveraging UPS’s owned and contracted global network in the air, on the ground, over railroads and on the ocean.
Other notes on Atlanta-based company relief efforts:
- The Home Depot Foundation said Tuesday it increased its financial support to $3 million for disaster relief efforts and communities impacted by recent disasters, including Hurricane Florence, Olivia, the California wildfires and flooding in the Midwest. The Foundation said it will provide support to North and South Carolina in collaboration with several nonprofit partners including the All Hands and Hearts, American Red Cross, Convoy of Hope, Operation Blessing and Team Rubicon.
- The New York Times reports that the Atlanta Humane Society is caring for dozens of cats and dogs from Beaufort, S.C., and rushed to get other animals in shelters on the Carolina coast out of harm’s way. More here.
- The CDC Foundation activated its Emergency Response Fund for Hurricane Florence. The fund is used to extend the emergency response efforts of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health organizations working on the ground in affected communities.
- The TOUR Championship is providing complimentary grounds tickets to Hurricane Florence evacuees from North Carolina and South Carolina to the Practice Round on Wednesday, Sept. 19.
