Social Impact & Volunteering

UPS Pledges $1 Million in Support of Typhoon Haiyan Victims for Recovery Efforts

Nov 13, 2013 9:00 AM ET

ATLANTA, November 13, 2013 /3BL Media/ – UPS (NYSE:UPS) today announced its $1 million pledge in support for recovery efforts in the Philippines following the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan. The pledge is a combination of cash grants, in-kind transportation movements and technical expertise to provide urgent relief as well as strategic support for the long-term needs. 

“UPS and its partners quickly moved our Global Humanitarian Relief Program to urgent response mode and together have set into motion a multi-faceted relief effort,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation. “We are immediately contributing $500,000 to provide urgent relief. We will monitor progress and on-going needs and will contribute an additional $500,000 later to support the near-term recovery needs of these communities.”  

UPS’s financial and in-kind contribution for urgent response totaling $500,000 is comprised of several grant recipients:

  • The World Food Programme (wfp.org) for urgent needs in mobilizing its Logistics Emergency Team (LETs) program, up to $250,000.
  • United Nations Children’s Fund (unicef.org) to receive $100,000 to assist the 1.7 million children impacted.
  • CARE (care.org) to receive $100,000 to address short-term sheltering and food insecurity.
  • Salvation Army (salvationarmy.org) is activating the remaining $30,000 UPS gave to its emergency fund earlier this year.
  • Medshare (medshare.org) to receive $20,000 for medical supplies to equip medical mission teams.

UPS will also commit at least $500,000 in additional financial support over the coming months to help speed long-term recovery efforts in the Philippines.  The company is currently working with its humanitarian relief program partners to assess recovery needs in local communities. 

Moreover, UPS has assigned Oliver Bartolo to the UN World Food Programme’s Logistics Emergency Team in the Philippines to assist the Global Logistics Cluster to coordinate relief efforts to areas hardest hit by the typhoon.  The company is also in close coordination with its local operations people as well as with key customers in order to help facilitate a more efficient response to relief efforts.   

Leveraging UPS’s expertise in logistics during disasters is an area where the company has proven it can make a big impact. In fact, providing humanitarian relief is an ongoing program. 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 refugee crises in the Sahel and Middle East. To read more about UPS’s efforts, please visit Aidmatrix case study

“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 Typhoon Haiyan are facing many hardships.  By donating financial and logistical support to organizations that will provide assistance in the days, weeks and months ahead, we are helping ensure impacted citizens have a reliable, efficient and predictable path back to recovery.”   

UPS (NYSE:UPS) is a global leader in logistics, offering a broad range of solutions including the transportation of packages and freight; the facilitation of international trade, and the deployment of advanced technology to more efficiently manage the world of business. Since its founding in 1907, UPS has built a legacy as a caring and responsible corporate citizen, supporting programs that provide long-term solutions to community needs. Founded in 1951, The UPS Foundation is responsible for leading the organization’s philanthropy and corporate citizenship efforts. In 2012, UPS and its employees, active and retired, invested more than $97.5 million in charitable giving around the world. The UPS Foundation can be found on the web at UPS.com/foundation. To get UPS news direct, visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS.