The UPS Foundation funds critical UN relief shipments to aid in global Syrian refugee crisis

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Sept. 21, 2015 /CNW/ - The UPS Foundation, the philanthropic arm of UPS^® (NYSE: UPS) is working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to provide critical relief shipments to thousands of refugees in Greece and along the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia border. Air shipments of 163 metric tons of relief supplies, including 86 tons of high-energy biscuits, 30,000 blankets, 25,000 sleeping mats and 1,000 solar lanterns arrived on Sept. 5. The flights were funded by The UPS Foundation as part of its UPS Humanitarian Relief and Resilience program.

This latest emergency relief shipment is part of The UPS Foundation's long-standing relationship with the UNHCR, WFP, other UN agencies and non-governmental organizations. UPS serves as UNHCR's emergency standby partner to transport critical supplies into the hands of refugees around the world.

In addition to the UNHCR relief shipments, The UPS Foundation also is aiding The Salvation Army, which will activate emergency funds from The UPS Foundation to support Syrian refugees arriving in Rome, Italy, with food, housing and legal advice.

"The refugee crisis is heartbreaking and strikes at the very fabric of our global community. We committed early on to support our humanitarian partners in transporting life-saving supplies to those people and communities in crisis," said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation.

The UPS Foundation has been supporting relief efforts for Syrian-Iraqi refugees for the past three years, including:

• Transporting personal protective equipment and medical uniforms to Turkey for Syria Relief & Development and providing in-kind and volunteer support for Medshare to get medical supplies to refugees (2014)
• Partnering with UNICEF for numerous relief initiatives including: packing and transporting via 17 ocean containers 23,400 winter clothing kits for Syrian children in Irbil, Iraq (2014); arranging charter flights to Erbil, Iraq with items including therapeutic foods, tents, mats, water sanitation kits and health kits for more than 40,000 refugees in the Kurdistan region (2013); packing and transporting 180,000 items of clothing into 20,000 winter clothing kits, including hats, scarf, mittens, coats, thermal underwear, socks and boots to Lebanon and Northern Iraq (2013)
• Becoming a founding member of the UNHCR Innovation Circle and introducing the UPS Relief Link program, to enhance last-mile tracking of relief supplies for refugees to ensure equitable distribution of food and non-food items (2013)
• Working with UNHCR to bring 28 ocean containers to Gaziantep, Turkey with mobile warehouses, sleeping mats, water cans and blankets (2013)
• Providing in-kind transportation of 394 metric tons of food, supplies and winter clothing for Syrian refugees in support of UNHCR (2013)
• Partnering with Shelterbox USA to deliver 11,750 kilos of shelter supplies in Lebanon (2013)
• Deploying skilled volunteers to southern Turkey as part of the World Food Programme's Logistics Emergency Team to assess capacities of ports, roads and airports along key supply lines in support of Syrian refugees (2012)

The UPS Foundation's Humanitarian Relief and Resilience program provides communities with crisis recovery support, from disaster preparation to urgent relief following an event through post-crisis rehabilitation. In 2015, The UPS Foundation committed $10 million in funding, technical and in-kind services to support a broad range of disaster resilience initiatives to strengthen preparedness, response and post-crisis recovery. In 2014, The UPS Foundation assisted with more than 263 shipments to 43 different countries to help with disaster response and recovery efforts.

For more information about The UPS Foundation's Humanitarian Relief and Resilience Program, visit UPS.com/Foundation.

About The UPS Foundation

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 facilitating community involvement to local, national, and global communities. In 2014, UPS and its employees, active and retired, invested more than $104 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. 

SOURCE UPS Canada Ltd.

Nikkol Zezza, 905-676-1708, [email protected]