EMERGENCY KITS FOR DISASTER SURVIVORS

Volunteers assembled nearly 3,000 emergency kits for disaster survivors at Americares global headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, on Nov. 28, in celebration of #GivingTuesday. More than 60 volunteers participated, including employees of Arizin, a business information company; Boehringer Ingelheim, a biopharmaceutical company; and Odyssey Group, a global provider of reinsurance and specialty insurance.

The kits contain essential hygiene items and are distributed to families displaced by tornados, hurricanes, flooding, wildfires and other emergencies worldwide. Americares responds to an average of 30 natural disasters and humanitarian crises worldwide each year, establishes long-term recovery projects and brings preparedness programs to communities vulnerable to disasters.  

“Americares ships about 30,000 hygiene kits each year in response to emergencies around the world, providing comfort to survivors on what is often one of the worst days of their lives,” said Americares Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer Jenny Goldstein. “Having these kits prepositioned to ship allows Americares to respond to natural disasters and humanitarian crises as quickly as possible.”

GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and the generosity of people around the world. The annual event, celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, kicks off the charitable giving season and inspires millions of people to give back and support causes they believe in.  

Americares is a health-focused relief and development organization that saves lives and improves health for people affected by poverty or disaster. Each year, Americares reaches 85 countries on average, including the United States, with life-changing health programs, medicine, medical supplies and emergency aid. Americares is one of the world’s leading nonprofit providers of donated medicine and medical supplies.