AmeriCares - CT - Stamford HQ

AmeriCares is an international relief organization whose passion to help is matched by an ability to deliver. Whether it's an epic disaster or a daily struggle, AmeriCares goes to extraordinary lengths to ensure that medicines, medical supplies and aid reaches individuals in need wherever they are, whenever they need it. In a quarter of a century, we have delivered more than $8 Billion of aid to 137 countries. AmeriCares is an I.R.S. registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

Description:
For more than two decades, the success of AmeriCares has been characterized by timely response, meaningful impact, high integrity and intense passion for the work. To deliver medicine, relief supplies and health care to the needy, AmeriCares has developed a platform based on strategic partnerships, high efficiency and tight auditing procedures.

Since its founding, AmeriCares has provided more than $8 Billion of aid to 137 countries. To accomplish these results, AmeriCares assembles product donations from the private sector, determines the most urgent needs and solicits the funding to send the aid via airlift or ocean cargo to health and welfare professionals in the indigent locations.

On the ground, AmeriCares works with international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), hospitals, health networks and government ministries of long-standing effectiveness.

History:
On April 4, 1975, a U.S. jet carrying 243 Vietnamese orphans crashed into the jungle outside Tan Son Nhut. A third of the children burned to death, many of the remaining victims were critically injured. Soon after, the Pentagon announced that it would not have the resources to rescue the children for 10 days.

The world received the news of the crash with dismay, shock and a widespread sense of helplessness. One individual decided to take action. Robert C. Macauley, a paper broker from New Canaan, Conn., immediately chartered a Boeing 747 to rescue the young survivors. Within 48 hours, the children were safe in California.

The rescue plan a success, Macauley now had to deal with a few financial issues, a minor detail in his philanthropic mind. Macauley did not have $10,000 in the bank to cover the down payment for the aircraft, nor the $241,000 for the remaining balance. To cover his expenses, Mr. and Mrs. Macauley took out a mortgage on their house. A fair trade, his wife Leila comments, "The bank got the house and Bob got the kids."

Born of unbounded compassion and sheer audacity, this mission set the stage for many to come. When human lives are at stake, Macauley has no patience for bureaucracy. "You act now," Macauley advises, "and worry about the red tape later".

Having learned of Mr. Macauley's efforts in Vietnam, Pope John Paul II asked him to Rome in 1981. "Poland was under martial law, and the country had virtually no medical supplies," Macauley recalls. "I'm not even Catholic, but when the Pope asks a favor, you comply." Macauley and His Holiness agreed upon a goal of $50,000 worth of medical supplies for the people of the Pope's native Poland. That goal was quickly exceeded when AmeriCares airlifted more than $3.2 million worth of aid to the country.

The Poland mission an overwhelming success, Macauley quickly realized the same model could be used to help those suffering in other countries around the world. Thus, one year later, 1982, AmeriCares was born.

Contact person: Mary Jo Loparco, Manager, HR, (203) 658-9629, (email)

Office fax number: (203) 327-5200

Address:

88 Hamilton Avenue Stamford, CT 06902 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.americares.org

Directions:

Directions To AmeriCares 88 Hamilton Avenue Stamford, CT 06902 I-95 Southbound Take Exit 9 off of I-95. Make a RIGHT at the light. Make your next RIGHT onto Courtland Avenue. Then make a LEFT at your first light. AmeriCares will be on your RIGHT. I-95. . . (more)

Last updated on May 20, 2009