FedEx continued their ongoing support of Direct Relief by granting $250,000 this week to strengthen key emergency preparedness programs—just in time for National Preparedness Month.
A premiere supporter of Direct Relief’s disaster preparedness and response, the two groups have collaborated since 1993 to improve the health of people affected by the daily emergency of lacking access to medical care as well as those impacted by natural disasters.
For more than a decade, FedEx has provided critically-needed in-kind transportation assistance to Direct Relief. Together, they deliver medicines and medical supplies to locally-run healthcare facilities in more than 70 countries and all 50 U.S. states on an ongoing basis as well as during emergencies.
The working relationship has evolved over the years in response to the need to prioritize emergency preparedness. When Direct Relief and FedEx began working together, the focus was on providing swift, targeted medical relief after disasters. Since that time, both organizations have grown to recognize the importance of preparing communities to respond to disasters before they strike.
Since 2009, FedEx has assisted Direct Relief in providing more than 1,500 ready-to-go medical packs to Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) volunteers in California. FedEx also delivered hurricane preparedness modules to hospitals throughout Latin America in advance of hurricane season to ensure that healthcare providers are equipped and ready to treat people as soon as a disaster strikes.
FedEx’s generous offers of transportation considerably enabled Direct Relief to quickly get emergency shipments of medicines to areas severely impacted by some of the world’s largest disasters. FedEx aided in disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, numerous tsunamis and floods in Asia, and the earthquake in Haiti.
The complementary abilities of FedEx and Direct Relief have enabled one-of-a-kind programs to strengthen healthcare systems worldwide and prepare at-risk regions for disasters. The success of Direct Relief’s emergency preparedness programs to ensure continuity of care at healthcare facilities would not be possible without the support of FedEx.
