BASF and Its Employees Donate $4.9 Million to Help Victims of Tsunami in Asia
February 11 2005 - 9:13AM
PR Newswire (US)
BASF and Its Employees Donate $4.9 Million to Help Victims of
Tsunami in Asia North American Employees With Company Match Account
for About $225,000 in Contributions FLORHAM PARK, N.J., Feb. 11
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As of January 31, 2005, the employees of
BASF worldwide have donated approximately $1.8 million to help the
victims of the tsunami catastrophe in Asia. This amount will be
matched by BASF. In addition, the company provided about $1.3
million in immediate aid in the direct aftermath of the disaster,
bringing the total donation to approximately $4.9 million. The
money has been made available for short-, medium- and long-term aid
projects in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. Employees in
North America donated $108,400 to Direct Relief International, the
Mexican Red Cross or the Canadian Red Cross. With the company's
match and some additional funds from the Canadian government,
BASF's contribution from North America will amount to approximately
$225,000. BASF's immediate aid of $1.3 million will be used for the
following projects in southern Asia: -- Indonesia: BASF donated two
drinking water purification plants to the German government's
disaster relief organization in order to rapidly secure a supply of
clean water for the victims of the tsunami in Banda Aceh. In
addition, BASF provided clothes, kitchen utensils, tents and
medicine to several refugee camps. -- In Sri Lanka, BASF is
supporting a project organized by "Habitat for Humanity" that will
finance the construction of about 300 homes in the devastated
areas. In the south of the country in particular, the tsunami has
deprived many fishing families of their means of living. BASF is
helping them by repairing several fishing boats. -- India: The
victims will be individually helped in collaboration with the
national relief fund of the Indian Prime Minister. The aim is to
give the people a fresh start after the catastrophe. -- In
Thailand, BASF is working with the Thai Red Cross to reconstruct a
school, which at the same time plans to establish a long-term
partnership between itself and BASF Thailand. BASF employees in the
Asia Pacific region also initiated numerous immediate aid measures:
-- Employees in India and Pakistan, for example, donated one day's
salary. -- In Indonesia, BASF's management provided authorities
with blankets and medical supplies as first aid in the worst hit
province of Aceh. -- BASF Indonesia took the lead in founding an
aid organization "Indonesian-German Disaster Relief Committee"
(INDOGERM-direct), which will above all help to coordinate
donations, post-trauma rehabilitation of victims and reconstruction
of buildings and infrastructure. -- In Thailand, employees donated
money, clothing and food for the inhabitants of the crisis zones.
-- Employees in Sri Lanka sent dry food rations to the eastern part
of the country, and families who lost their houses in the east and
south of the country received support in a variety of forms.
Employees from BASF companies worldwide played an active role in
helping the flood victims. In Germany, the "BASF-Katastrophenhilfe
e.V.," a disaster help fund founded by employees of BASF, has
provided donations for special aid projects in the devastated
areas. The medium- and long-term aid projects are currently being
coordinated with various partners in order to achieve lasting
support for the victims. "The overwhelming response to the appeal
for donations shows that BASF's employees think globally and that
efforts to help the tsunami victims do not stop at national
borders," said Dr. Jurgen Hambrecht, Chairman of the Board of
Executive Directors for BASF, BASF -- The Chemical Company. We
don't make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the
products you buy better.(R) BASF Corporation, headquartered in New
Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF AG, Ludwigshafen,
Germany. We employ about 11,000 people in North America and had
sales of approximately $9 billion in 2003. For more information
about BASF's North American operations, or to sign up to receive
news releases by e-mail, visit http://www.basf.com/usa. BASF is the
world's leading chemical company. Our goal is to grow profitably
and further increase the value of our company. We help our
customers to be more successful through intelligent system
solutions and high- quality products. BASF's portfolio ranges from
chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products
and fine chemicals to crude oil and natural gas. Through new
technologies we can tap into additional market opportunities. We
conduct our business in accordance with the principles of
sustainable development. In 2003, BASF had sales of approximately
$42 billion. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in
Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA), New York (BF), Paris (BA) and Zurich
(AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at
http://www.basf.com/. DATASOURCE: BASF CONTACT: Jack Maurer, BASF,
+1-973-245-6072, Web site: http://www.basf.com/usa
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