The UPS Foundation, which leads the global citizenship programs for UPS (NYSE: UPS), announced it has expanded its response to the novel Coronavirus, including new grant allocations, surpassing $6 million to United Nations agencies, humanitarian relief partners and community-based non-profit and international non-government organizations.
The relief support includes collaboration with more than a dozen organizations and the provision of in-kind transportation, supply chain consultation, and cash contributions to expedite the distribution of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers and other life-sustaining activities for impacted individuals and communities.
“The UPS Foundation and UPS have extensive experience in helping communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from sudden onset and prolonged crises. That expertise enables us to provide critical support to our partners during this unprecedented time of need,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation and UPS chief diversity and inclusion officer.
“The public-private partnerships we have developed around the world span years – even decades in some cases. We’re able to work together, inspire each other, and rapidly deploy our support and logistics expertise toward meaningful actions to drive life-sustaining results,” he continued.
The new grant allocations will be provided to the following agencies:
The new grants are in addition to support provided previously, through which The UPS Foundation and medical product donors and relief partners MAP International, MedShare and Good360 provided more than 4 million respirator masks, 11,000 protective suits and 280,000 nitrile gloves to healthcare workers.
Most recently, UPS announced its participation in the White House Rapid-Response Taskforce for Coronavirus Testing Sites, providing logistics planning and operations to support drive-up patient test facilities and deliver test kits and test samples.
The UPS Foundation is a key consultative partner with the global coalitions organizing private sector engagement, including the Private Sector Roundtable of the Global Health Security Agenda, the World Economic Forum Pandemic Supply Chain Network and the World Economic Forum COVID Action Platform.
In 2019, The UPS Foundation responded to 28 major world disasters, providing in-kind support of humanitarian aid and relief across 74 countries – almost $6.5 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, by rail and on the ocean. Throughout 2019, The UPS Foundation invested more than $20 million in funding, in-kind, and technical support for community safety initiatives to enhance preparedness, urgent disaster response and recovery, public health strengthening, and road safety.
How UPS is responding to Coronavirus.
Read about other support being provided by UPS and The UPS Foundation.
Learn how supplier diversity may play a key role in pandemic recovery here.