AmeriCares Annual Benefit Gala Held at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum

AmeriCares Foundation
Wednesday, 24 May 2000

AmeriCares Celebrates Eighteen Years of Delivering Hope

On May 16, over 600 AmeriCares supporters, corporate sponsors and donors gathered at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum to honor American Home Products and Northwest Airlines, Inc. at their Annual Benefit Gala. President and Mrs. George H. W. Bush co-hosted the event with Mr. and Mrs. Robert Macauley, Founders of AmeriCares. The Master of Ceremonies was Harry Smith, Host of Biography on the A&E Network. Guests enjoyed a special performance from the U.N. Children's Choir, a superb dinner, an awards ceremony presented by Former First Lady Barbara Bush and a video celebrating AmeriCares' vision of delivering hope for those in need.

AmeriCares Founder and Chairman, Robert C. Macauley gave a special tribute to his dedicated staff and volunteers, AHP and Northwest Airlines. "Corporate philanthropy," he states, "is essential to the success of AmeriCares efforts of bringing help and hope to those suffering from catastrophes around the world."

For the past fourteen years, AHP's charitable donations to AmeriCares have helped disaster victims and the indigent in more than 90 countries. Most recently AHP and AmeriCares joined forces to deliver life-saving supplies to the mudslide and flood victims in Venezuela and Mozambique.

Over the past eight years, Northwest Airlines has been AmeriCares' key transportation partner for disaster relief airlifts within the United States and throughout Asia. This alliance has enabled AmeriCares to deliver over $24,000,000 worth of medicines and relief supplies to victims of both domestic and international disasters.

The evening concluded with the last ferry making an unusual circle around the Statue of Liberty—a symbolic gesture to AmeriCares which vows also to be a worldwide beacon of hope.

AmeriCares is a nonprofit disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization, which provides immediate response to emergency medical needs—and supports long-term healthcare programs—for people around the world, irrespective of race, creed or political persuasion. Since its inception in 1982, AmeriCares has delivered over $2.5 billion in aid to more than 130 nations worldwide.

For more information, or to contact AmeriCares Foundation, see their website at: www.americares.org