NEW YORK, May 14 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI; TSX: TRI; LSE: TRIL; Nasdaq: TRIN), the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, today announced that Thomson Reuters and its Foundation will support disaster relief efforts in Myanmar with a donation totaling US$300,000. The commitment will directly fund relief agencies that have gained access to areas devastated by Cyclone Nargis through the Foundation's AlertNet International Disaster Fund (AIDfund), an independent grant-making fund that disburses cash grants for specific aid projects immediately after disasters.
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The Foundation is donating US$200,000 to AIDfund, supplemented by an additional US$100,000 contribution from Thomson Reuters. After reviewing relief agency submissions, AIDfund has elected to distribute cash grants to the following non-governmental agencies:
-- Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) - Austria
-- British Red Cross
-- Christian Aid
-- HelpAge International
-- Muslim Aid
-- World Vision International
The agencies will be providing food parcels including rice, oil, pulses and dried fish, water purification tablets, clean water systems, blankets, clothing and temporary shelter. These projects will be able to deliver much needed support to many thousands of beneficiaries with the Christian Aid project alone aiming to reach 100,000 people. HelpAge International will target the most vulnerable including older people, children, pregnant women and the disabled.
Commenting on the announcement, Monique Villa, chief executive officer of the Reuters Foundation said, "The point of AIDfund is to get cash fast to relief agencies already on the ground in Myanmar. These agencies are the ones most able to make a difference in this critical period when lives can still be saved. All the agencies we've chosen have been active in the country for years. They have the local knowledge and connections to get relief where it's needed quickly."
Supported by the Reuters Foundation, AIDfund is an independent fund which provides immediate support to humanitarian organizations working on the frontline of emergency relief. AIDfund experts, drawn from the relief industry, rapidly assess the merits of grant applications made by the more than 400 member aid organizations in the Foundation's AlertNet program.
AlertNet ( http://www.alertnet.org ) provides relief professionals and the wider public up-to-date information on humanitarian crises around the world. AlertNet for Journalists, a set of tools and resources to help reporters worldwide cover difficult crises, includes detailed crisis briefings, aid agency contacts, humanitarian statistics and early warning of disasters.
Reuters Foundation runs four core programs: journalism training, Reuters AlertNet, the inception and creation of Aswat al Iraq ( http://www.aswataliraq.info ) and part-funding of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford. It is expected to continue to run these programs while expanding to take on more initiatives to reflect the expertise, global community and strategic business goals of Thomson Reuters.
About Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, scientific, healthcare and media markets, powered by the world's most trusted news organization. With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minnesota, Thomson Reuters employs more than 50,000 people in 93 countries. Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: TRI); Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: TRI); London Stock Exchange (LSE: TRIL); and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: TRIN). For more information, go to http://www.thomsonreuters.com .
