Direct relief

Direct Relief is a non-profit organization based in Santa Barbara , California that focuses on delivering medicines to crisis areas.

history

William D. Zimdin , an international American hotel and casino millionaire of Estonian-Jewish origin, sent thousands of aid packages to his relatives, friends and former employees in Europe after the end of the war in 1945. This led to the development of the William Zimdin Foundation, which was founded on August 23, 1948 as a nonprofit organization under California law.

After Zimdin's death in 1951, his foundation was continued by Dezsö (Dennis) Karczag, a native of Hungary and Zimdin's business partner. In 1957 the name was changed to Direct Relief Foundation, and the current name Direct Relief International has been in effect since 1982.

The principle of helping people to help themselves is at the heart of Direct Relief International. For example, there was a revolving loan fund for refugees from 1950 to the 1960s. With the improvement in the economic situation in Europe, the organization increasingly turned to other parts of the world, acquired a license as a pharmaceutical wholesaler in 1962 and established good contacts with the American pharmaceutical industry, which Direct Relief began to support with generous donations.

In fiscal 2008, Direct Relief provided $ 214 million in direct assistance to 59 countries. Direct Relief is considered one of the most efficient American foundations. In recent years, it has come to the fore in major disasters ( hurricanes , tsunami disaster in December 2004, earthquakes in Pakistan, etc.).

Web link

Homepage of Direct Relief (English)