DEERFIELD, Ill., March 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Baxter International Inc. and The Baxter International Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Baxter, today announced their combined 2006 charitable giving, which focused on increasing access to healthcare, helping developing nations and countries in crisis, and addressing other critical community needs. In 2006, combined giving from the company and its foundation totaled more than $35 million, comprising:
-- $16.5 million from Baxter’s businesses and facilities to address critical local needs; -- $14.8 million from donations of Baxter products to developing nations and countries in crisis; and -- $4.2 million from The Baxter International Foundation, including $3.1 million in worldwide grants awarded, and more than $599,000 from the foundation’s Dollars for Doers and Matching Gifts programs in support of employees’ philanthropic efforts.
“As a healthcare company that focuses on creating life-saving products and therapies, making a positive impact on the health and well-being of our local and global communities is a natural extension of our business,” said Robert L. Parkinson, Jr., Baxter’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Addressing critical community needs, such as increasing access to healthcare and helping developing nations and countries in crisis, is a part of our higher purpose that binds Baxter as a company and as global citizens.”
Baxter Provides Global Disaster Relief Support
The company’s 2006 charitable giving included more than $4 million in support of relief efforts for individuals recovering from the aftermath of worldwide disasters, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the earthquake in India and Pakistan. The Baxter International Foundation committed more than $1.5 million in grants to organizations dedicated to disaster relief, in addition to more than $50,000 in employee contributions and matching gifts from Baxter and the foundation. At the same time, with the help of international relief agencies, the company donated more than $3 million of needed Baxter products to victims of these disasters.
In 2006, The Baxter International Foundation Health Recovery Fund was established by a $750,000 grant made from The Baxter International Foundation to the Foundation for the Mid South (FMS), a regional development foundation serving Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The donor-advised Fund provides incremental grants to support community-based health care clinics, nonprofits, and other community-based health services for restoration efforts after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In July, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation underscored the importance of the fund by providing a matching grant of $500,000 to the Fund’s granting pool, contributing to the $1,083,813 in total grant dollars that were awarded by FMS in 2006 to 18 organizations.
Donations through Baxter, its foundation, and Employee Matching Gifts, helped to support earthquake relief efforts in India and Pakistan. Baxter donated more than 280,000 doses of the company’s NeisVac-C vaccine, a conjugated meningococcal group C vaccine, to International Health Partners (IHP), a charitable organization dedicated to providing donated medical aid to communities in the developing world. The donation helped to complete the inoculation of the nearly 500,000 earthquake victims at risk of contracting meningitis in Kashmir. The vaccine donation followed a $250,000 grant awarded by The Baxter International Foundation to CARE USA, one of the world’s largest private international relief and development organizations, to support the earthquake relief efforts. Additionally, Baxter matched qualifying contributions made by employees on a 2-to-1 basis, providing an additional $50,000 to aid victims of the disaster.
Product Donations Help Countries Worldwide
Baxter donated more than $14.8 million in vital medical products to more than 44 countries in 2006. The majority of product donations were distributed through the international disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization AmeriCares. To expand its reach and maximize its giving, Baxter also partnered with Direct Relief, a non-profit, non-sectarian humanitarian assistance organization based in California, which has a priority focus on contributing to sustainable initiatives in Africa.
Other Foundation Grants Aim to Improve Healthcare Worldwide
In 2006, The Baxter International Foundation awarded grants totaling $4.2 million to nearly 70 organizations in 20 countries. Through its grant program, the foundation funds initiatives that improve global access to quality and cost-effective healthcare. Specifically, grants awarded in 2006 will help promote health education to children, provide mental health services to low-income youth, increase clinical services for women who are homeless or experience domestic violence, and improve access to healthcare for children, the uninsured and the elderly.
Through one of the grants, the foundation partnered with Charities Aid Foundation in New Delhi, India, to establish a chronic care initiative to increase awareness and improve access and availability of treatment options for conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity among high-risk populations. The $260,000 grant will be distributed over a two-year period.
Additional organizations that received grants in 2006 from the foundation include:
-- Howard Brown Health Center, to support a new initiative to increase access to healthcare for aging lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other seniors in the Chicago area. -- Rose Cherry’s Home for Kids (The Cedarbrook Society), to establish a volunteer program to support the provision of pediatric hospice, palliative and respite care for children and their families in Milton, Ontario, Canada. -- Caritas Switzerland, to establish a center in Switzerland to provide referrals for female immigrants and information, training and networking for healthcare specialists regarding treatment and care related to female genital mutilation.
A full listing of The Baxter International Foundation grants awarded in 2006 can be found at http://www.baxter.com/grants .
About Baxter
The Baxter International Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Baxter International Inc., helps organizations expand access to healthcare in the United States and around the world. The foundation, established in 1981, began to focus exclusively on increasing access to healthcare in 2002 -- particularly for the disadvantaged and underserved -- in communities where Baxter employees live and work. To learn more about the foundation, please visit http://www.baxter.com/about_baxter/foundation .
Beyond its charitable giving, Baxter’s commitment to advancing environmental stewardship and social responsibility spans nearly three decades. The company has been recognized by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors as one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World and by Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine as one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens in the United States. Baxter is a member of the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College, the Business Environmental Leadership Council of the Pew Center on Global Climate Exchange, the Chicago Climate Exchange, the U.S. EPA’s Climate Leaders, the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association and Hospitals for a Healthy Environment. Baxter endorses the Ceres principles and is an organizational stakeholder of the Global Reporting Initiative. To learn more about Baxter’s sustainability initiatives, please visit http://www.baxter.com/sustainability .
Baxter International Inc. , through its subsidiaries, assists healthcare professionals and their patients with the treatment of complex medical conditions, including hemophilia, immune disorders, cancer, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma and other conditions. The company applies its expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to make a meaningful difference in patients’ lives.
Baxter International Inc.
CONTACT: Elaine Salewske, +1-847-948-3297, or Deborah Spak,+1-847-948-2349, both of Baxter International
