PHARMACY PROFILE
AmeriCares Celebrates Its Silver Anniversary
AmeriCares celebrated its 25th anniversary at a gala event in New York on Thursday, May 10. It was an evening filled with warm accolades to AmeriCares founders, Bob and Leila Macauley from the 41st President of the United States, a video tribute from notable figures such as Colin Powell and Paul Newman, and a musical performance by a world-renowned concert pianist. The event raised $1.4 million, all of which will benefit AmeriCares.
AmeriCares was launched in 1982 when, in response to a personal request from Pope John Paul II, Connecticut businessman Bob Macauley organized the inaugural AmeriCares airlift, which delivered $3.2 million in emergency medical relief to strife-torn Poland. Since then, AmeriCares has delivered more than $6.5 billion in humanitarian aid to 137 countries.
"We are very proud to have reached the historic milestone of AmeriCares 25th anniversary," said AmeriCares president and CEO Curt Welling. “Since 1982, we have been delivering aid that saves lives and helps restore health. Our gala evening was a celebration of 25 years of compassion, passion and generosity, highlighting the work of AmeriCares that has touched millions of people in need around the world.”
Receives Four-Star Rating
A highlight of this year’s celebration was when AmeriCares was awarded Charity Navigator's four-star rating for the sixth consecutive year. Charity Navigator, America's premier independent evaluator of charities, provides extensive information on charitable organizations to prospective donors so that they may make informed giving decisions. A four-star rating is the highest rating possible.
Earning the top rating from Charity Navigator for six years in a row is not only a rare accomplishment, but in the words of the watchdog group's president, it is "exceptional." According to Charity Navigator president Trent Stamp, "Only 1 percent of the charities we've rated have received at least six consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that AmeriCares outperforms most charities in America in its efforts to operate in the most fiscally responsible way possible."
This honor comes at a critical time, when the number of nonprofits has increased exponentially, and donors continue to demand more results and accountability from the charities they choose. "It is with great pride that we receive this important recognition for the sixth consecutive year," said Curt Welling, president and CEO of AmeriCares. "In the 25 years that we have been operating, we have become expert at mobilizing our humanitarian aid quickly and effectively by relying on a business model that leverages contributions for maximum impact."
Charity Navigator ranks charities from one to four stars, based on each organization's financial health, efficiency and capacity. The ratings show donors how efficiently a charity will use their support and to what extent the charities are growing their programs and services over time. More details of the assessment are available at www.charitynavigator.org.
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From left: Curt Welling, AmeriCares president and CEO, welcomes attendees to the 25th Anniversary celebration. President George H.W. Bush addresses attendees during the gala. Photos courtesy of AmeriCares. |
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Celebrating 25 Years
of Partnering
to Provide Critical Aid
By Robert E. McHugh
In life, there are those seminal moments when you get the feeling that something you are about to embark on is really, “the right thing to do.” One such moment came to me in 1984 when I was vice president of Member Services at the NWDA (now HDMA) and first met a man from AmeriCares. The AmeriCares representative explained that the organization, which had formed two years earlier, set out to partner with pharmaceutical companies in order to deliver critical medicines to disaster areas and to people without access to medicine in developing countries around the world.
As AmeriCares celebrates its silver anniversary, I would like to take a few minutes to remember how our industry members began a relationship with this international relief organization, and commend them for all the lives they have improved and saved over the years.
Early Skepticism
Back in 1984, when I was first introduced to AmeriCares, pharmaceutical manufacturers were wary of even legitimate humanitarian programs that distributed their medicines. As a result, medicines in our warehouses, with a good six to nine-month shelf-life, were being wasted.
Upon learning about the AmeriCares mission, we at NWDA decided to extend an invitation to the organization to become a member and attend our annual Marketing Conference. We hoped that there, AmeriCares staff could explain their mission and its benefits to both wholesalers and manufacturers.
While cautious at first, pharmaceutical companies began to recognize that partnering with AmeriCares saved time, reduced waste and financial delays in the credit system. After working with AmeriCares for a few years with positive results, more companies started to realize the many benefits of teaming up with this humanitarian aid organization, from helping those in need, to expanding good social responsibility within their own walls.
As AmeriCares gained experience in the 1990s, it increased its reach to a growing number of countries, sending regular shipments of medicines, medical supplies and aid for both ongoing and emergency needs. Today, a wide array of pharmaceutical and OTC companies understand that their products help in disaster areas and in the basic clinics of developing countries receiving aid from AmeriCares. And, these donated products have never entered the commercial channels. As a result, hundreds of pharmaceutical, OTC-HBC and medical supply companies now support AmeriCares work around the world, and many have become loyal AmeriCares donors.
Critical Need
Access to medicines is a problem that affects one third of the world’s population. In developing countries medicines are often lacking, sometimes counterfeit, and too expensive for those who desperately need them. According to the UN Millennium Project, “after the presence of trained health professionals, medicines are the single most critical element in the maintenance of health and the successful treatment of disease and illness.”
Over the last quarter century, AmeriCares has acted as the bridge for getting medicines from where they are to where they critically need to be. In that time, AmeriCares has been able to deliver more than $6.5 billion of aid to people in 137 countries, thanks to the generous support of our donors.
Throughout its 25-year history, AmeriCares has provided medical relief to those affected by the famine in Ethiopia (1984); the Chernobyl disaster (1986); the Armenian earthquake (1988); the Rwandan refugee crisis (1994); Central America’s Hurricane Mitch (1998); the 9/11 World Trade Center attack (2001); the South Asian tsunami (2004); the Pakistan earthquake (2005); Hurricane Katrina (2005); and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
I have witnessed AmeriCares work firsthand, as I have traveled with the staff and donor executives numerous times on its annual airlift to show partners how their donations are helping people. I have personally seen AmeriCares work in Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico and Haiti over the past 15 years.
I was also fortunate to travel to Nepal last November on a mission to aid Tibetan refugees with medicines and supplies provided by AmeriCares. The products I brought with me from AmeriCares, such as rubber gloves, amounted to enough aid to fill eight camp clinics for several months.
AmeriCares Celebrates 25th Anniversary
In May, I attended the AmeriCares 25th anniversary gala in New York City, where I was among nearly 700 guests which included numerous pharmaceutical company representatives as well as some notable dignitaries.
The honorary co-chairs of the evening were the 41st President of the United States George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush, and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Elie Wiesel, who spoke about their own connections to AmeriCares and its work. Barbara Bush has served as the AmeriCares Ambassador-at-Large since 1986. Elie Wiesel has served on AmeriCares advisory board since 1994. CBS "Early Show" Anchor Harry Smith acted as the evening's Master of Ceremonies. Humanitarian activist Paul Rusesabagina [Hotel Rwanda Manager] and NBC "Today" Anchor Ann Curry also paid tribute to AmeriCares.
Looking Ahead
The AmeriCares mission is far from over. Eleven million children die annually in the developing world from preventable diseases and 26 million adults die annually in those same countries from chronic diseases. AmeriCares plans to build on its 25 years of experience by expanding the relationships they have with the pharmaceutical industry to increase the volume of aid they deliver. AmeriCares cannot do that without your help. Your support over the last quarter century has made a tremendous difference in countless lives around the world. Your continued support will enable AmeriCares to reach many more.
Bob McHugh is a 41 year industry veteran. He's spent many years as a manufacturer, NWDA staff VP and a wholesaler — most recently as a VP at AmerisourceBergen. He is now an industry consultant to such clients as AmeriCares, IFPW, HDMA, The F.Dohmen Co. and several manufacturers."
You Too, Can Make the Difference
Access to medicines is a problem that affects one third of the world’s population. In developing countries medicines are lacking, often counterfeit and too expensive for those who need them. According to the UN Millennium Project, “after the presence of trained health professionals, medicines are the single most critical element in the maintenance of health and the successful treatment of disease and illness.”
This photo was taken on one of the organization’s life-saving missions to an orphanage in Hondorus.
Photo courtesy Bob McHugh.
AmeriCares acts as a bridge for getting medicines from where they are (its pharma partners) to where they need to be. Over the last quarter century, thanks to an intense passion to help and the collaborative efforts of corporate partners, AmeriCares has been able to deliver more than $6.5 billion of aid to people in 137 countries.
Together, AmeriCares and the pharmaceutical industry have provided medical relief to those affected by: the famine in Ethiopia (1984); the Rwandan refugee crisis (1994); the attacks on the World Trade Center (2001); the South Asian tsunami (2004) and; the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur. Here at home, partnerships have helped bring much needed health care to those impacted by major natural disasters such as Florida’s Hurricane Andrew (1992), and the Gulf Coast’s Hurricane Katrina (2005). AmeriCares also continues to help improve the health of those unable to do so themselves in our own country through various community programs.
AmeriCares mission is far from over. Eleven million children die annually in the developing world from preventable diseases and 26 million adults die annually in those same countries from chronic diseases. AmeriCares plans to expand the relationships it has with its generous partners and to double the volume of aid they deliver.
To learn more about how you can join hands with this life-saving organization, visit www.americares.com or call 800-486-4357.