US-ASEAN Business Council Receives $50K Grant from The UPS Foundation

US-ASEAN Business Council Receives $50K Grant from The UPS Foundation

Washington, DC - December 15, 1999 The US-ASEAN Business Council has received a US$50,000 grant from The UPS Foundation, the charitable arm of United Parcel Service. The grant will be used to support the Council’s trade education and training programs in the member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“Under our new Chairman, Mr. Jim Kelly, Chairman & CEO of United Parcel Service, the Council has embarked on an aggressive agenda to support the 10 country, 500-million person ASEAN region with technical training and education.” Said Ernest Z. Bower, President of the US-ASEAN Business Council. “UPS’s corporate vision for electronic commerce and more efficient movement of people, goods, and ideas is consistent with a strong trend in ASEAN toward much greater Internet connectivity and usage. The Council understands ASEAN's desire to use technology as a key element of its recovery strategy, and as a vehicle to boost productivity. American companies have the technology and expertise to help ASEAN realize its vision of a networked region, and make a substantial contribution to economic recovery.”

Mr. Kelly assumed the Chairmanship of the US-ASEAN Business Council in September of 1999. UPS, which has been a member of the Council for more than ten years, is an active supporter of programs and events designed to educate American companies about ASEAN and business opportunities in this rapidly changing part of the world. Most recently, UPS sponsored the Atlanta portion of the 1999 U.S. Ambassadors Tour, in which the U.S. envoys to the ASEAN region met directly with small, medium, and large Atlanta-based companies in June to discuss trade and investment prospects in the region.

The US-ASEAN Business Council is the non-profit membership association that promotes trade, investment, and technology cooperation between the U.S. and ASEAN. It is based in Washington, DC, with regional offices in Singapore and Manila, and has a membership of 150 of the leading American firms with trade and investment ties in ASEAN.

Founded in 1951 and based in Atlanta, Georgia, The UPS Foundation supports education and human welfare issues. The Foundation’s major initiatives currently include programs that support family and workplace literacy, prepared and perishable food distribution, and volunteerism. Corporate grants benefiting organizations or programs such as the Council’s positively impact communities today.

The UPS Foundation has a unique philanthropic structure that distributed approximately US$36.3 million in 1998 throughout the U.S. and internationally. Of that, over US$20.8 million was awarded through the Corporate Grant Program, US$3.1 million was distributed through the Region/District Grant Program, US$8.2 million went to United Way, and an additional US$4.2 million provided local charitable organizations with the support and funding necessary to meet existing and urgent community needs.

“United Parcel Service delivers much more than 12 million packages each day. We deliver support to communities worldwide, ” said Evern Cooper, Executive Director of the UPS Foundation. “By ‘support,’ we mean much more than financial support. We mean long-standing programs to ensure the safety and well-being of our employees and the communities we serve, as well as hands-on community service through programs that reinforce our commitment to urgent human welfare needs. We also invest in tomorrow’s leaders by sponsoring local and national educational initiatives, including mentoring and scholarship programs.”

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