Founded | Santa Barbara, California, US August 23, 1948 [1] |
---|---|
Founder | William D. Zimdin, Dezso Karczag [2] |
Type | Charitable Organization [1] |
95-1831116 | |
Legal status | 501(c)(3) organization [1] |
Focus | Disaster preparedness and relief services [3] |
Location |
|
Coordinates | 34°26′14″N119°50′36″W / 34.43734°N 119.8432121°W |
Area served | International [3] |
Key people | Thomas Tighe, president and CEO John Romo, chairman of the board of directors [1] |
Revenue | $1.1B [4] |
Employees | 100 full-time |
Volunteers | 20,000+ individuals, companies, and foundations |
Website | directrelief |
Formerly called | Direct Relief International |
Direct Relief (formerly known as Direct Relief International) is a nonprofit humanitarian organization whose mission is to improve the lives of people in poverty or emergency situations by providing the appropriate medical resources. [5] The charity provides emergency medical assistance and disaster relief in the United States and internationally. [1] The organization is headed by an independent board of directors and its president and CEO, Thomas Tighe. [6]
In 1945, William Zimdin , an Estonian immigrant to the United States and businessman, began sending thousands of relief parcels to relatives, friends, and former employees in Europe to help with the aftermath of World War II. [2] [7] [8] In 1948, Zimdin formalized his efforts with the establishment of the William Zimdin Foundation. Dezso Karczag, a Hungarian Jewish immigrant, assumed management of the foundation following Zimdin's death in 1951. Karczag changed the organization's name to Direct Relief Foundation in 1957. [9]
In the early 1960s, the foundation refined its mission to serve disadvantaged populations in medically underserved communities around the world. To assist with this effort, Direct Relief became licensed as a wholesale pharmacy in 1962 to be able to provide prescription medicines. [10] During this time, the organization also supported victims of natural disasters in the US and homeless populations in Santa Barbara, California. [11] The foundation assumed the name Direct Relief International in 1982. [12] [7]
In 2004, the Direct Relief provided almost $122 million in medical aid to 54 countries. [13] The same year, the organization assisted Sri Ramakrishna Math and GlaxoSmithKline with designing and implementing a one-year nurse assistant training program in India. The program was launched to empower young women in districts affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami. By 2019, over 1,200 nurses had graduated. [14]
In 2011, Direct Relief Women held its first fundraiser for Direct Relief International. All money raised went toward providing safe births around the world. [15] In 2013, Direct Relief International assumed the name Direct Relief. [12]
After raising $3,300 for the American Cancer Society through a partnership with Direct Relief in 2016, Matthew Moffit and Direct Relief produced Zeldathon (playing Legend of Zelda for 36 hours straight) and formed Direct Relief Gaming, which has raised $14.1M since its inception and partnered with organizations such as Humble Bundle and Bungie. [16] [17]
In 2018, Direct Relief provided about $1.2 billion worth of wholesale materials to health centers in over 100 countries.[ citation needed ]
Between 2000 and 2014, the Direct Relief's operating budget averaged roughly $11 million per year. [18] Over the same period, it reported delivering more than $1.6 billion in medical resources and supplies worldwide. [19] Medical supplies come largely through in-kind donations by hundreds of pharmaceutical manufacturers. [20]
The organization manages logistics and distribution through enterprise systems that include SAP, Esri, and in-kind transportation support from FedEx. [3] [18] [21]
In 2019, Direct Relief opened a new Santa Barbara warehouse and distribution headquarters. [22] The new building is 155,000-square-feet, earthquake-safe, and outfitted with state-of-the-art distribution technology for medical supplies. [23] Direct Relief partnered with Tesla to create a microgrid power supply for the building. [24] Solar panels are integrated with battery storage and generators to keep the headquarters running for up to six months in the face of a disaster and to store temperature-sensitive medications like insulin and vaccines. [23]
In 2013, Direct Relief launched a program in partnership with Basic Health International to screen and treat women in Haiti for cervical cancer. [52]
Up to April 2020, the organization had distributed more than 145,000 pounds of medical aid in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. [59] Direct Relief shipped supplies to hospitals and clinics in all 50 US states as well as institutions in 32 countries. [59] [60] The organization also started a new COVID-19 fund to provide community health centers financial support for healthcare workers. [61] 3M donated $10 million to the fund. [62] By June 2020, over 518 health centers had received funding through the COVID-19 fund. [63]
In May 2020, Direct Relief announced that it was partnering with FedEx Cares to ship personal protective equipment to underserved communities around the US. [64] The charity has sent over 350,000 surgical masks, 30,000 face masks, and 10,000 goggles to Mexico. [65]
Direct Relief provides support to local and international wildfire incidents, including masks, vehicles, and funds to advance firefighter technology.
In July 2019, the organization released an analysis of which small towns in California could be the hardest hit by a fast-moving wildfire based on the numbers of low-income, immobile, aging, or disabled people in the community. Nine towns were given a "very high" social-vulnerability score. [74]
Direct Relief delivers medical aid to people in high-need areas worldwide by supporting partners that provide child and maternal health services through the full process of pregnancy. The organization provides midwives with the tools needed to provide delivery, antenatal, and postpartum care safely. In 2017, Direct Relief distributed 300 midwife kits to fourteen partners in seven countries in the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa, supporting 15,000 safe births. [76]
Lutheran World Relief (LWR) is an international non-governmental organization that focuses on sustainable development projects and disaster relief and recovery. The organization was founded in 1945 to collect and send aid to people living in post-World War II Europe. Today, LWR helps communities living in extreme poverty adapt to the challenges that threaten their livelihoods and well-being, and responds to emergencies with a long-term view. It is a member of the Corus International family of faith-based international development organizations, which include IMA World Health, CGA Technologies, Ground Up Investing, and LWR Farmers Market Coffee.
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Medair is an international non-governmental organisation (INGO) whose purpose is to relieve human suffering in some of the world's most remote and devastated places. Medair aims to assist people affected by natural disasters and conflict to recover with dignity through the delivery of quality humanitarian aid.
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Americares is a global non-profit organization focused on health and development that responds to individuals affected by poverty, disaster, or crisis. The organization addresses poverty, disasters, or crises with medicine, medical supplies and health programs.
International Medical Corps is a global, nonprofit, humanitarian aid organization that provides emergency medical services, healthcare training and capacity building to those affected by disaster, disease or conflict." It seeks to strengthen medical services and infrastructure in the aftermath of crises."
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Zakat Foundation of America is a Chicago-based NGO providing emergency relief, post-disaster rehabilitation, sustainable development, education, healthcare, orphan sponsorship, and seasonal programs such as Ramadan iftars and Udhiya/Qurbani. Zakat Foundation of America is registered under 501(c)(3) as a non-profit charity organization.
Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA), based in Alexandria, Virginia, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) humanitarian agency and member of the Islamic Relief Worldwide group of organizations. IRUSA was founded in California in 1993. In addition to international relief and development initiatives, Islamic Relief USA also sponsors and funds domestic projects ranging from emergency disaster responses to assisting the American homeless population and supporting those who cannot afford basic healthcare.
IsraAID is an Israel-based non-governmental organization that responds to emergencies all over the world with targeted humanitarian help. This includes disaster relief, from search and rescue to rebuilding communities and schools, to providing aid packages, medical assistance, and post-psychotrauma care. IsraAID has also been involved in an increasing number of international development projects with focuses on agriculture, medicine, and mental health.
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Hope for Haiti is a non-profit organization based in Naples, Florida, USA, founded in 1989 by JoAnne Kuehner. The mission of the organization is to improve the quality of life for the Haitian people, particularly children, through education, healthcare, water, infrastructure and economy. In addition, Hope for Haiti has an emergency relief component and has responded to several natural disasters like the 2010 Haiti Earthquake and Hurricane Matthew since its founding.
Matthew 25: Ministries is an international humanitarian aid and disaster relief organization headquartered in Blue Ash, Ohio, US. Matthew 25: Ministries provides humanitarian aid and disaster relief to the poor throughout the US and around the world. Matthew 25 collects excess products from corporations and manufacturers as well as the general public and ships these donations to those in need.
BAPS Charities is an international, religious, charitable organization that originates from the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) with a focus on serving society. This focus on service to society is stated in the organization's vision, that "every individual deserves the right to a peaceful, dignified, and healthy way of life. And by improving the quality of life of the individual, we are bettering families, communities, our world, and our future." BAPS Charities carries out this vision through a range of programs addressing health, education, the environment, and natural disaster recovery. The organization's worldwide activities are funded through donations and are led by a community of over 55,000 volunteers who are mostly members of BAPS. The volunteers work with local communities and other charities and the organization's activities are mainly based out of their mandirs.
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