American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) whose mission is to save lives and reduce suffering for disaster survivors, received a surprise anniversary present last week – a donation and matching gift challenge from Amazon. To celebrate ALAN’s 10-year anniversary and to support ALAN’s disaster relief mission, Amazon helped ALAN within a 24-hour period on Sept. 29 to raise more than $75,000 through a successful matching gift fundraiser.
I am overwhelmed by the generosity of Amazon and our partners who contributed to this fundraiser,” said Fulton. “These funds will enable ALAN to continue our work of coordinating logistics and supply chain services, education, and connections throughout the disaster cycle. With our Hurricane Joaquin and East Coast flooding response firmly underway, these additional financial resources enable ALAN to be on the job and ready to respond to requests for logistical and supply chain help.”
It’s only appropriate that this 24-hour fundraiser was spontaneously initiated at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) annual conference, which took place last week in San Diego, Calif. That’s because 10 years ago, at the 2005 CSCMP annual conference, the industry was abuzz about how Hurricane Katrina ravaged the U.S. Gulf Coast, causing more than 1,800 deaths and $108 million in damage. This disaster prompted an outpouring of donations from people, businesses, and organizations throughout North America, yet these donations couldn’t be distributed efficiently because there was no system in place to handle a relief effort of such magnitude.
“A group of industry leaders determined that there was a tremendous need for an organization like ALAN to bring together coordination, access to industry and government agency connections, and building relationships,” said Fulton. “Hence, the concept of ALAN was conceived at that CSCMP event.”
Fast-forward 10 years later, and ALAN has grown to represent a community of 23 professional supply chain associations, and serves as a bridge between the business community and disaster responders around the globe. “From the devastation of the earthquake in Haiti to the supply chain disruptions caused by Superstorm Sandy, to the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa, ALAN has enabled efficient storage and distribution of millions of dollars of humanitarian aid,” said Mark Richards, VP of Associated Warehouses Incorporated, and an ALAN senior officer.
“Dozens of transportation moves, thousands of dollars of material handling equipment, and hundreds of thousands of square feet of warehouse space have been generously donated by logistics services providers, with the help of ALAN.”
Dave Clark, senior vice president of worldwide operations and customer service for Amazon, presented the attendees of the CSCMP conference on Sept. 29 with this challenge: Amazon will match up to $25,000 for all the pledges received by ALAN within the next 24 hours. In addition, Amazon jump-started the donation drive with its own $25,000 pledge, raising the total Amazon pledge to $50,000 (should the $25,000 be matched). Less than 18 hours later, Fulton announced that ALAN contributors had met and exceeded the $25,000 match.
