Briefing

The Independent Pilots Association, a union for roughly 2,800 UPS pilots, is supporting relief efforts in earthquake-struck Haiti by establishing an electronic database for aviators who want to volunteer. "This is not the first time our members have stepped-up and volunteered their services to move aid to a disaster area," Capt. Robert Thrush, president of the IPA, said in a press statement today. "Back in 2005 more than 500 IPA crewmembers volunteered to staff flights into Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana to help alleviate the suffering from hurricane Katrina." UPS, meanwhile, has announced in a separate statement that it will contribute more than $1 million in cash and in-kind support to help the victims of the quake that struck earlier this week, killing tens of thousands of people, according to the Red Cross.

UPS's donation includes $500,000 in cash and up to $500,000 of in-kind services for the shipment of needed supplies. The funds will be divided between The American Red Cross, CARE, UNICEF and other organizations that assist with long-term relief activities.

"With hundreds of thousands of people affected, our hearts go out to Haiti," said Dan Brutto, president of UPS International and a member of the the U.S. Fund for UNICEF's board of directors in a statement. "Through our financial commitment and logistics expertise, UPS is positioned to respond quickly to the urgent needs and tremendous suffering that have been created by the earthquake. We felt it was critical that we act fast to support the relief efforts."

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