UPS Employee Volunteers Provide Muscle and Means for Delivering Donated School Supplies to International Red Cross
News Release: March 27, 2001
Contact: Janice Osborne, Manager-Media & Community Affairs
(610) 865-4400, ext. 262
Exactly how does one sort, package and ship more than 500 pounds of school supplies to international communities that have experienced crisis and loss? For the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, the answer is easy. Call upon the employee volunteers of the United Parcel Service (UPS) in Bethlehem.
For the second year, UPS will provide the muscle and means to see that school supplies are sorted, safely packaged and shipped to a Red Cross site in Maryland before being sent around the world to schools destroyed by disasters such as flooding, mudslides and armed conflict.
On Wednesday, March 28, five employee volunteers from UPS and five students from Liberty High School, with which UPS has a mentoring program, will gather at the Red Cross office in Bethlehem to count, sort and package enough donated school supplies to help hundreds of children.
"I think it's very important to give actual hours to the community in addition to money," says Sandy Kelly, community volunteer coordinator for the UPS Bethlehem office. "UPS is a very large financial contributor to organizations, but locally we like to give back our time to the community we serve. UPS and The David Program, a mentoring program designed by Liberty High School in Bethlehem, have worked hard to volunteer their services every month to different organizations in the Lehigh Valley community."
"Over the years, UPS has developed a strong commitment to giving back to the communities we serve," adds Sara Kennedy, communications representative for UPS of Central Pennsylvania. "It's an honor for us to support the Red Cross School Chest Project for the second year."
School supplies were donated through a Red Cross program called the "School Chest Project." Red Cross chapters throughout Pennsylvania asked schools to donate a school chest filled with basic educational items for a class of 40 students. These chests will be sent to an international community that has experienced crisis and loss, and will be used to equip a classroom there. Countries designated to receive supplies include Kenya, Mozambique, Armenia, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
"This is an excellent opportunity for students to learn the rewards of sharing to help other students in need," said Bob Duld, director of Volunteer Services for the Lehigh Valley Chapter, American Red Cross. "This is the second year we have conducted the program and the response has been tremendous by teachers, students and the community. And, of course, Sandy Kelly and her folks at UPS are the absolute best."
Contents of the chest for a class of 40 students includes: lined composition books, no. 2 pencils with erasers, pencil sharpeners, rulers, compasses, colored chalk, blackboard erasers, drawing paper, crayons, a tape measure, a soccer ball and 20 jump ropes.
Lehigh Valley schools and organizations that donated the supplies are: the Coplay Lioness, George D. Steckle Elementary School, George Wolf Elementary School, Girl Scouts Friendship Service Unit, Moravian Academy, Spring Garden Elementary School (second year for participation) and St. Cyril & Methodius Elementary School.
The American Red Cross is a humanitarian organization, led by volunteers, that provides relief to victims of disasters and helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. The Lehigh Valley Red Cross serves more than 620,000 residents in Lehigh and Northampton counties. Last year the Red Cross provided health and safety education training and emergency relief services to nearly 15,500 Lehigh Valley residents.
For more information about your local Red Cross, call (610) 865-4400 or visit www.redcrosslv.org.
