The Chrysler Foundation Donates $100,000 to Emilia-Romagna Earthquake Relief Fund

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., June 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

• National Italian American Foundation to receive $100,000 for the Nazareno Cooperativa Sociale

The Chrysler Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Chrysler Group LLC, announced today it will donate $100,000 to the National Italian American Foundation in support of the Nazareno Cooperativa Sociale, located in Carpi (Modena), Italy. This center, which was severely damaged during the recent earthquake, provides housing, education, professional training and creative outlets for children and adults with disabilities.

"Our hearts go out to the people of the Emilia-Romagna region as they recover from this earthquake," said Jody Trapasso, President – The Chrysler Foundation. "We are humbled by their unwavering spirit in this time of adversity and we are proud to support the relief and recovery efforts."

This Chrysler initiative is the latest in a series of initiatives already put in place by several Fiat Group and Fiat Industrial Group companies in the past couple of weeks to aid the inhabitants of Emilia-Romagna, including a fund-raising initiative to benefit the Italian Red Cross, which is on the front line in the disaster relief effort. Further, this initiative is consistent with the Foundation's long history of providing humanitarian aid throughout the United States and the world.

In 2011, the Foundation donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross for Japan disaster relief efforts. The Foundation also matched contributions made by Chrysler employees, contractors and dealers. Several months later in June, the Foundation donated $50,000 to support AmeriCares U.S. Disaster Relief Fund, which provides medical aid, bottled water, hygiene products and relief supplies to survivors of tornadoes, hurricanes and other disasters. Then in October, the Foundation donated $25,000 to AGAPE Love from Above to Our Community in support of flood disaster relief and recovery efforts in Bloomsburg, Pa.

The Foundation donated $100,000, $50,000 each to Oxfam America and the United States Fund for UNICEF in 2010, to support humanitarian relief and recovery efforts in Haiti after that country's devastating earthquake. Later that year, the Foundation contributed $50,000 to the village of Dundee, Mich., and another $50,000 to ISOH/Impact in Perrysburg, Ohio, for relief efforts following severe tornadoes that hit Michigan and Northern Ohio.

In 2008, the Foundation provided $100,000 for flood relief and cleanup programs in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In that same year, the Foundation, together with the Southwest Business Center and local dealers, presented the Houston Food Bank with $200,000 worth of food and supplies, plus three Dodge Ram Heavy Duty pickup trucks to continue distribution efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ike. In the year prior, the Foundation donated $100,000 for wildfire disaster relief in San Diego. This initiative also involved volunteers and in-kind support from Chrysler Group dealers.

About The Chrysler Foundation
During the past 59 years, The Chrysler Foundation has established a proud legacy of enriching the physical, educational and cultural needs of local communities in which Chrysler Group LLC conducts business. Chrysler employees also have a strong commitment to helping improve their communities by volunteering their time and talents in the places where we live and work.

The Chrysler Foundation embodies the values of the Company and its employees and, since its inception, has awarded more than $500 million in charitable grants.

SOURCE Chrysler Group LLC