UPS Mobilizes Its Disaster Relief Program To Support Oklahoma Recovery Efforts

May 23, 2013 /3BL Media/ - UPS announced a coordinated plan with its key disaster relief partners that will provide urgent relief as well as strategic support for the long-term recovery efforts needed in Moore, Oklahoma, as well as Cleburne and Shawnee, following the devastation caused by the tornadoes that struck there earlier this week.

"In addition to the $550,000 cash and in-kind support contributed to the American Red Cross's Annual Disaster Giving Program last month, we're pledging an additional $250,000 to execute the plan we have developed with our partners, which will provide urgent relief and support for the long-term recovery needs of these communities," said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation.

UPS's financial and in-kind contribution is comprised of several grant recipients:

• The American Red Cross of Central Oklahoma (redcross.org) to help with the sheltering needs of the victims, logistical aid for urgent response and providing operational support for the local chapter.
• Operation Hope (operationhope.org) to aid individual and small business financial recovery by providing assistance completing disaster aid application and documentation and securing payment deferrals through mortgage lenders.
• St. Bernard Project (stbernardproject.org) to share lessons learned from past disasters to speed community recovery and reconstruction of homes.
• National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (nvoad.org) to provide sub-grants to member organizations that are engaged in long-term recovery initiatives.

UPS is already moving a shipment of equipment that will be used to provide communications service to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the city of Moore, the local Fire Department and other disaster response groups. UPS has also been in daily contact with the American Red Cross staff since the tornadoes touched down to assess the areas in most need of assistance, offering in-kind support as well as the help of our trained Logistics Action Team.

Earlier this year, as a leading member of the American Red Cross's Annual Disaster Giving Program, UPS contributed to help enable the organization to respond to the nearly 70,000 disasters that occur throughout the year. UPS believes in giving support before disasters occur so relief agencies will have funds and in-kind support at their disposal to act immediately when a disaster strikes.

Last year, UPS supported more than 200 humanitarian relief programs in 35 countries. This includes programs that prepare communities for a crisis, providing them with urgent relief when a crisis occurs and post-crisis recovery phase support. Through a combination of in-kind shipments, technical and expertise sharing and funding of relief organizations, UPS contributed in excess of $6.5 million in 2012. This includes areas impacted by natural disasters such as Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Isaac as well as global crises in the Sudan and the Congo.

UPS has a long history of working with disaster relief organizations to deliver critical, life-saving aid to communities in need around the world," said Martinez. "The victims of the Oklahoma tornadoes are facing many hardships. By donating financial and logistical support to organizations that will provide assistance in the days, weeks and months ahead, UPS is helping ensure impacted citizens have a reliable, efficient and predictable path back to recovery."