AmeriCares Delivering Aid for Hurricane Sandy

STAMFORD, Conn., Oct. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AmeriCares is delivering relief supplies, bottled water and a fully-equipped mobile clinic for families in the tri-state area affected by Hurricane Sandy. The aid organization is sending 5,000 Johnson & Johnson hygiene kits stocked with soap, shampoo, toothpaste and other personal care items to emergency shelters and aid distribution centers. AmeriCares is working with The Salvation Army, World Cares Center and other nonprofit organizations to distribute the kits to affected families in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

AmeriCares is deploying a mobile medical clinic tomorrow to Beacon Christian Community Health Center in Staten Island, N.Y., to allow it to continue treating patients despite the loss of power. The 40-foot bus is stocked with medicines and supplies and has two private exam rooms for patient consultations. AmeriCares also has bottled water en route to the Food Bank for New York City and the Nassau County Office of Emergency Management in Long Island, N.Y.

AmeriCares relief workers have been visiting shelters in coastal Connecticut and Westchester County, N.Y., to assess the needs of families displaced by the storm. Additional aid deliveries are expected in the coming days. AmeriCares relief workers will also continue to reach out to more than 130 health care facilities along the East Coast with offers of assistance. AmeriCares keeps medicines and relief supplies in stock in its Stamford, Conn., warehouse, including medicines for patients with chronic health conditions, for emergencies.

"This is just the beginning of what is sure to be a large-scale response with dozens of aid deliveries," said Garrett Ingoglia, AmeriCares vice president of emergency response. "Sandy is the worst storm the East Coast has experienced in a generation. We are working to help thousands of families who have been displaced, lost power or have trouble accessing health care due to the storm."

AmeriCares has delivered medical relief and humanitarian assistance to millions affected by natural and man-made disasters worldwide for 30 years. In the past year alone, AmeriCares responded to several emergencies in the U.S. including Hurricane Isaac in Mississippi and Louisiana, tornadoes in Kentucky and Indiana and wildfires in Colorado. In 2011, in response to one of the worst tornado seasons in decades, AmeriCares delivered nearly $3 million in aid for disaster survivors all across the country.

To learn more about AmeriCares Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, or to make a donation, please go to americares.org

About AmeriCares
AmeriCares is a nonprofit global health and disaster relief organization that delivers medicines, medical supplies and aid to people in need around the world and across the United States. Since it was established in 1982, AmeriCares has distributed more than $10 billion in humanitarian aid to 164 countries. For more information, visit americares.org

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Donna Porstner: Cell (516) 607-1180
[email protected]

Leslie Gianelli: Cell (203) 988-0390
[email protected]

SOURCE AmeriCares