Promotional products industry comes together to help those in need
TREVOSE, PA – November 30, 2017 – Citing the generosity of the promotional products industry, the Advertising Specialty Institute® (ASI) today announced its disaster relief fund drives raised a total of $96,896 to help people impacted by the Harvey, Irma and Maria hurricanes.
Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and several other Caribbean islands suffered devastating losses caused by hurricanes that caused flooding, storm surges and catastrophic winds last August and September.
There are 99 ASI-listed distributors in Puerto Rico alone, home to 3.4 million American citizens. Two months after Hurricane Maria struck the U.S. territory, more than half of the island remains without power, tens of thousands of jobs have been washed away, thousands of small businesses remain closed and some hospitals remain on emergency generators, according to the New York Times.
To help, ASI pledged $25,000 to match cash contributions given to specific charitable organizations earmarked for people in Texas and the Gulf, and another $10,000 to match contributions given to organizations helping residents of the islands.
In addition, dozens of companies throughout the promotional products industry organized their own fund drives, sending money and shipping truckloads of donated goods to impacted areas.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the way the promotional products industry responded when the call for help went out,” said Timothy M. Andrews, president and chief executive officer of ASI. “Thanks to generous donors, hundreds of thousands of people who lost everything received money, shelter, clothing, first-aid supplies, school supplies – the list goes on. At this very special time of year, it’s wonderful to be reminded that we care – for our neighbors, colleagues and clients, and for strangers we’ll never meet. We are indeed part of an extraordinary community.”
The money ASI matched benefited the American Red Cross, Save the Children’s Hurricane Maria Children’s Relief Fund, Houston Food Bank and the Coastal Bend Food Bank of Corpus Christi, Texas. To be counted in ASI’s fund drive, donors emailed receipts showing their contributions.
About ASI
The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI®) serves a network of 23,500 suppliers, distributors and decorators in the $23 billion promotional products industry. ASI’s flagship product, the technology platform ESP®, manages the industry’s entire supply and marketing chain. ASI also produces award-winning digital and print content, live events and educational programs that enable companies in 55 countries to be more efficient, productive and profitable. ASI’s Counselor ® magazine provides the most authoritative business content in the industry, and the ASI Certification Program features 500+ live and online education courses for over 40,000 professionals. The company, family owned and operated since 1962, is proud to have been consistently ranked among the “Best Places to Work” in Philadelphia and Bucks County, PA. For more info: www.asicentral.com.