The mission of AmericasRelief Team is “To provide humanitarian logistics assistance and educational programs to benefit disaster victims”. True to our mission, AmericasRelief Team continues to contribute toward reducing the suffering and increase the self‐sufficiency of the most vulnerable groups in the Americas devastated by disaster. We have come a long way and we have exciting plans for the future. Truly, 2011 has been a year of impacting the lives of many individuals, families and communities. I am happy to share our story with you in our Annual Report.

Throughout the year, AmericasRelief Team has been actively engaged in a number of activities that have increased our ability to rapidly respond to crises and to solidify our position as one of the preeminent NGOs operating in the category of the international disaster relief architecture known as humanitarian logistics.

AmericasRelief Team takes into consideration two important elements when strategizing and implementing its programs: our partners, and those who have been affected by devastation or disaster. To the outside eye, these two groups are completely separate entities, but within AmericasRelief Team, partners come together in order to help those who have been victims of disaster.

During 2011, and due in part to our inability to receive funding for the premier purpose of the organization, that is, humanitarian logistics, we began a hard process of re‐evaluating the functions of the organization. At the end of the process we decided that besides logistics, AmericasRelief Team should focus in humanitarian relief education, preparation, and assistance. This subtle but important distinction, we feel, will give us a larger role to play in the international humanitarian assistance architecture within the international humanitarian community, thereby providing AmericasRelief Team greater USG funding opportunities.

We also decided to refocus attention on to a program that we have been promoting for the last few years but which we had trouble properly articulating. That program is now called the Port Resilience Program or PReP. More information on PReP is included in the annual report.

To focus on humanitarian logistics assistance, educational programs, and to benefit disasters victims in the Americas.

AmericasRelief Team is a collaboration of corporations and non‐profit organizations created to help the Americas in times of crisis and disasters.

AmericasRelief Team’s uniqueness lies in its focused area of humanitarian logistics. AmericasRelief Team accomplishes its mission by creating strategic agreements with key non‐profit and corporate partners including U.S. and foreign government agencies, bilateral and international donor organizations, international finance organizations, faith‐based organizations, advocacy groups, international and local NGOs, and U.S. corporations. These organization together with AmericasRelief Team leverage combined assets with greater efficiency and effectiveness for selected relief and development activities which include the design and implementation of emergency response logistics and development aid programs.

Through our connections, programs and events we are able to merge the efforts of both global and small‐scale corporations and NGOs to collaborate with AmericasRelief Team in order to effectively and efficiently transport aid and contribute to the economic development of those countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region most affected by a disaster. AmericasRelief Team also provides ongoing logistics assistance to humanitarian NGOs, conducts educational projects and implements comprehensive relief plans on behalf of the Americas.

AmericasRelief Team conducts multiple programs and initiatives as advocates, coordinators, and facilitators in the planning and implementation for the effective distribution of disaster relief to victims of humanitarian crises in the Americas.

Logistics is the Achilles heel of emergency response. One of AmericasRelief Team’s programs is to manage collaborative efforts of corporations and NGOs to help maximize relief aid efforts in the Americas to Internally Displaced People (IDP) following a humanitarian crisis event; ensuring that the aid can be effectively channeled to the most affected areas and to those most in need.

The program has attracted much support from several government agencies, corporations and NGOs from across the country including the U.S. Department of Commerce, US SOUTHCOM, FedEx, Laparkan, American Airlines and Florida International University. There are four main goals to the program:

In May 2011, AmericasRelief Team was selected to receive funding for the Ocean Freight Reimbursement (OFR) Program. Throughout the year, AmericasRelief Team has been able to provide assistance to various NGO partners in reimbursing them for their ocean freight when delivering medical supplies and/or relief items to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in need of this help.

We also added Project Medishare to our list of NGOs helped through the program. In October 2011, AmericasRelief Team worked with Project Medishare to ship a 40’ container to Haiti filled with various medical supplies. Project Medishare has a facility in Haiti where they help locals with medical needs.

Through the Freight Calculator, AmericasRelief Team provides NGOs the best optoons for shipping humanitarian relief aid cargo, efficiently and economically. Americas Relief Team collaborates with a large number of ocean freight and air cargo companies to leverage quantity discounts for its members and other NGOs.

The Freight Calculator is a state‐of‐the‐art quotation and booking tool that provides NGOs with instant competitive quotes. This tool makes it easy and convenient for NGOs to get their relief items shipped at the best prices.

The Limited Excess Personal Property Program (LEPP) began in 2010, when AmericasRelief Team received $2,000,000/2 years in‐kind grant from USAID. This gives AmericasRelief Team access to the US Government’s excess property. AmericasRelief Team is currently strategizing as to how we can use this program in more effective ways to support our programs.

The LEPP grant will expire in 2012, AmericasRelief Team has re‐applied for the program and expects to receive access to the U.S. Government’s excess property once again, and is prepared to better utilize the program to the benefit of it’s International NGO Partners.

PAILS for Haiti is better described as Providing Aid In Livelihoods and Selfsustainability for the internally displaced persons of Haiti through targeted selfemployment initiatives.

With the view that self‐employment initiatives are an effective tool for reconstruction and development, PAILS for Haiti provides men and women internally displaced in Haiti, and in need of sustainable livelihoods, with a compact medium by which to employ their skills, become self‐sufficient, and thereby less reliant on humanitarian assistance and better able to reintegrate into society.

The design of the project is to create nine separate “pails” specifically designed to meet the needs of four different employment categories. Filled with the pertinent tools, materials, and equipment to carry out each work function, such as construction, auto‐repair, seamstress, etc. Pails are distributed to internally displaced persons so that they can begin finding work and making a new life for themselves and their families.

The program began in 2010 after the devastating earthquake in Haiti. In 2011, AmericasRelief Team teamed together with the Greater Miami Society for Human Resource Management (GMSHRM) to create awareness of the program and raise funds throughout the Miami corporate community for further micro ‐enterprise development in Haiti. Throughout the year, AmericasRelief Team has participated in various events with GMSHRM to promote the program and we are happy to share.

On Friday, April 22, 2011, AmericasRelief Team held the 1st Annual Disaster Relief Classic at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. This event was one of the first community focused fundraisers for AmericasRelief Team.

There were multiple foursomes in attendance representing organizations such as Tom Gallagher Insurance, Gibraltar Bank, Levy Advertising and more. Lunch was provided to the players along with goody duffle bags which included a golf shirt and a sleeve of balls.

There was cigar sampling, a puttng contest, open driving range and raffle for all the participants to partake in. After the tournament a reception was held in one of the ballrooms. The raffle was conducted where winners received prizes such as airfare for two to anywhere in South America on LAN Airlines, a stay for two at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort and more. Awards were then given to the players that hit the longest drive and closest to the pin and also, foursomes that placed in the top three.

The tournament was a fun‐filled day event that gave exposure to AmericasRelief Team and its efforts throughout the Americas and we are excited for next year’s event which will be taking place on April 27th.

On June 10, 2011, AmericasRelief Team held their 7th Annual Regional Crisis Relief Luncheon, aboard the Carnival Cruise ship, Imagination. The event drew over 200 attendees from both the private and public sectors, including government entities, corporations and non-profit organizations, all with a common interest in the health and recover of our region in times of crises. This year for the first time, an aid effectiveness workshop was also organized into the day's events.

AmericasRelief Team together with Oxfam America conducted the Who Decides and Who’s Accountable?: Aid Effectiveness and the Reconstruction of Haiti Workshop. The workshop took place in the morning at the Port of Miami offices. The workshop started with a presentation followed by a panel discussion. The panel consisted of representatives from multiple organizations such as Haitian Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development USAID Haiti Task Team, Haiti Aid WatchDog and more.

Following the workshop, the luncheon attendees gathered to discuss aid logistics to the Americas and Caribbean following a humanitarian crisis. The luncheon’s keynote speaker was USAID Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mark Feierstein. Mr. Feierstein has over 25 years of experience working with development issues in the region.

In 2011, AmericasRelief Team merged with its sister organization ECHOcuba into one entity, Outreach Aid to the Americas, Inc. Through this merger AmericasRelief Team and ECHOcuba will now share many of the costs they both initially would independently paid for, such as Human Resources, Financial Officer, Communications Department, Office Assistance and others administrative costs. The merge promises to strengthen the mission and programs of both organizations.

Through Project Aid the Americas, AmericasRelief Team has partnered with a variety of media partners throughout South Florida. With this project, South Floridians now have an opportunity to reach out and help those who have been directly affected by catastrophic events.

AmericasRelief Team is very grateful for the support it receives from corporation and NGOs. AmericasRelief Team relies on its partners to conduct humanitarian aid, development and educational programs throughout the Americas. We are proud to share that in 2011 we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the following organizations:

American Nicaraguan Foundation ANF is an NGO founded in 1992 to help the neediest sectors in Nicaragua by strengthening medical assistance, increasing educational attainment, building safe shelters,  providing  clean

water solutions, promoting economic opportunity, and delivering humanitarian aid to impoverished communities all over Nicaragua.

An MOU between AmericasRelief Team and ANF was signed in March 2011 and since then proposals to USAID have been written in order to begin implementing development projects in Nicaragua together.

AATAC
In August 2011 ART entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Asian American Convenience Store Association (AATAC). The purpose of the MOU is to set forth the understandings of AATAC and ART with regard to AATAC’s goal of having a non‐profit partner as its Charity of Choice for its members.

AATAC*	Gordon Reyes & Company
ADRA	Harvest International, Inc.*
Air Parcel Express, Inc.*	Honduran American Chamber of Commerce*
Airlift Flyers Aviation*	IBC Airways
American Nicaraguan Foundation*	International Relief & Development*
American Red Cross	LAN
APL Limited	LAPARKAN, Inc.*
Baptist Health	LSU Stephenson Disaster Management Institute*
Boden PR	Miami‐Dade Aviation Department*
Caribbean Central America Action (CCAA)*	Oxfam America*
Carnival Corporation	POMTOC
CBS 4 & Neighbors4Neighbors	Port of Miami
Compassion Alliance	República
Cross International	SAHF
DAMCO USA	Sante Shipping Lines, Inc.
DHL Aviation Americas, Inc	Seaboard Marine*
Enterprise Florida, Inc.	SeaFreight Agencies, Inc.*
FAVACA	United States Southern Command*
FedEx Express, LAC*	Univision 23
Food for the Poor, Inc*	Univision Radio
Gateway Florida, Inc.	World Trade Center
General Dynamics	World Vision

You may also view or print this 2011 Annual Report in a PDF format