ALAN celebrates 10th anniversary at CSCMP annual conference

The American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) marked its 10-year anniversary at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ (CSCMP) recent annual conference in San Diego, Calif.

Rick Blasgen, CSCMP president and chief executive officer, recognized ALAN during Tuesday morning’s general session on September 29.

“ALAN was founded right here in San Diego 10 years ago at our annual conference after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit,” Blasgen told the audience. “ALAN plays a critical role in saving lives and reducing suffering for disaster survivors in the United States by engaging industry to supplement nonprofit organizations’ logistics capabilities. They serve by coordinating logistics, providing education, and building cross-sector relationships before, during, and after disasters. CSCMP was one of the founding organizations of ALAN and we remain dedicated to its mission today. We’re proud of the work that ALAN has done throughout its ten-year history and we celebrate their anniversary.”

Tuesday’s general session speaker, Dave Clark, senior vice president of worldwide operations and customer service for Amazon, presented conference attendees with a challenge. Amazon would match up to $25,000 for all the pledges ALAN received within the next 24 hours. In addition, Amazon started the donation drive with a $25,000 pledge, raising the total Amazon pledge to $50,000 (should the $25,000 be matched). Less than 18 hours later, ALAN executive director, Kathy Fulton, announced that contributors had met and exceeded the $25,000 match.

“We are overwhelmed by the generosity of Amazon and our partners who contributed to this fundraiser,” Fulton said. “These funds will enable ALAN to continue its work of coordinating logistics and supply chain services, education, and connections throughout the disaster cycle. With our Hurricane Joaquin and East Coast flooding response firmly underway, these additional financial resources enable ALAN to be on the job and ready to respond to requests for logistical and supply chain help.”

Mark Richards, vice president of Associated Warehouses, Inc. and ALAN senior officer, said that it was hard to believe that it had been ten years since he first challenged CSCMP members at the 2005 conference to find a way to improve disaster response time. “Supply chain professionals have tremendous power to make a positive difference for disaster survivors,” he said. “As we celebrate ten years of saving lives through logistics response, we want to recognize all the generous contributions made by CSCMP staff, volunteers, and members. And thank you to Amazon for this incredible matching gift fundraiser.”

ALAN’s goal is to raise $100,000 by December 31, 2015. Gifts provide cleaning supplies following floods, training for nonprofits to improve their supply chain activities, food for pets abandoned during wildfires, and access to medical care in Sierra Leone. For more information about ALAN, or to donate to support its work, visit www.ALANaid.org. Donations can also be made by texting ALANAID and the gift amount to 50155.