Haiti Relief effort gets boost from Gregory

SACRAMENTO, Calif. , Mar 23, 2010 -

Gregory Mountain Products this week donated more than 1,600 backpacks to assist with relief efforts in Haiti, following the recent natural disaster in that country. The packs will be distributed to two particularly hard-hit areas of Haiti to help people who were displaced from their homes store and transport food and personal items.

Operation USA, a nonprofit, international relief agency that helps people overcome the effects of disasters, disease and endemic poverty by providing privately-funded relief, reconstruction and development aid, will distribute the packs. They were shipped this week from Gregory to Operation USA’s headquarter in Los Angeles. From there, Operation USA will ship them to on-the-ground teams in Haiti.

Neil Frame, Vice President of Procurement and Logistics for Operation USA, said with estimates of more than a million people out of a population of 9 million displaced in Haiti, and with the advent of the rainy season, it’s a big help to be able to distribute backpacks to help people transport personal items and food, as well as hang food off the ground.

Jim BoisD’Enghien, director of sales and marketing for Gregory, said the company learned through the Outdoor Industry Association’s web site of Operation USA’s work to distribute items like tents, sleeping bags and sleeping pads to help residents displaced by the disasters.

“It logically occurred to us that there could similarly be many uses for packs – whether for transporting aid supplies or to help people keep track of their belongings,” BoisD’Enghien said. “We’re glad we could play a very small part in the global response to lend a hand.”

Frame said tents and waterproof material that can be used for shelters – even raw material – continue to be critically important with the advent of the rainy season, so Operation USA is seeking out donations on that front. Frame can be reached through Operation USA at (800) 678-7255.
About Gregory Packs

Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2007, Gregory Packs has been the longtime leader in expedition, backpacking and day packs. Gregory is world-renowned for setting durability, comfort and performance standard in backpacks. In recent years, Gregory won awards for its pack designs from such diverse media outlets as Backpacker Magazine, Outside Magazine, National Geographic Adventure, Popular Science, Men’s Journal, Consumers Digest and Alpinist Magazine. For more information about Gregory packs, visit www.gregorypacks.com or call 877.477.4292.

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