FedEx and NFWF Join to Preserve and Renew Urban Ecosystems
Third Year of Collaboration to Expand Urban Conservation Projects with FedEx Volunteers in 14 U.S. Cities
WASHINGTON, April 20, 2012 — FedEx Corp. is once again working alongside the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to support 15 urban environmental projects in 14 major U.S. cities this spring and summer. The program marks the third year of their unique collaboration to address urban environmental challenges and continues the expansion of local grants awarded by FedEx from 12 communities in 2011 and six communities in 2010. Through NFWF, grants have been awarded to local nonprofits that will maximize FedEx philanthropic volunteer resources in Pittsburgh, Memphis, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Dallas, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Chicago, Colorado Springs, Newark, Seattle, Miami, San Francisco and Boston.
"As part of our commitment to environmental sustainability, we utilize our resources and extensive network to address pressing environmental challenges facing our cities, including ecological threats to the wildlife and nature in urban settings," said Mitch Jackson, vice president, environmental affairs and sustainability, FedEx Corp. "Working alongside NFWF in the vital task of urban ecological preservation and restoration provides a unique opportunity for FedEx team members to play an active role in addressing these challenges and improving the communities where they live and work."
FedEx is contributing nearly $400,000 in grants to local nonprofits through NFWF, with local grantees receiving between $12,000 and $40,000 per project.
"In just three years, NFWF's work with FedEx and local nonprofit partners has engaged more than 51,000 community members and resulted in the planting of 46,000 trees and native plants. These actions reduced carbon dioxide output by more than 1.1 million pounds," said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of the Foundation. "As the EarthSmart program continues to expand, the results of our collaboration are impressive. We're caring for the natural places in our cities and making them better for people and wildlife."
The conservation projects will include a day of service for FedEx team members, working with each NFWF grant recipient in their community. They will help plant trees and shrubbery in Pittsburgh, Miami, Memphis, Indianapolis and Washington, D.C., clear invasive plant species in Seattle and Chicago; restore trails in Colorado Springs; revitalize riverfronts and watersheds near Philadelphia, Dallas, Newark and Boston; and transplant native plants to the Los Angeles area coastline and San Francisco's Presidio Bluffs.
The collaboration between FedEx and NFWF is part of the EarthSmart Outreach initiative, a FedEx commitment to philanthropic and volunteer efforts that focus on environmental sustainability.
The organizations participating in the FedEx EarthSmart Outreach projects for 2012 are:
Pittsburgh
Grantee: Tree Pittsburgh
FedEx Grant Award: $12,610 / Match: $33,765
Project Date: April 13, 2012
Project Description: Volunteers will plant 400 trees along the popular South Side Trail that is used by thousands of visitors every year for walking, jogging and cycling.
Memphis
Grantee: Shelby Farms Park Conservancy
FedEx Grant Award: $40,000 / Match: $44,000
Project Date: April 16, 2012
Project Description: Volunteers will plant 300 trees and beautify a section of Shelby Farms Park by removing invasive non-indigenous plants and replace with native vegetation.
Washington, D.C.
Grantee: Anacostia Watershed Society
FedEx Grant Award: $25,000 / Match: $57,615
Project Date: April 17, 2012
Project Description: Volunteers and students will restore and protect the Anacostia River and its watershed communities by cleaning the water and recovering the shores. Activities include removing trash, clearing the planting site and transplanting Nuphar (an aquatic plant) into Kenilworth Marsh.
Philadelphia
Grantee: Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Inc.
FedEx Grant Award: $26,173 / Match: $111,502
Project Date: April 19, 2012
Project Description: Volunteers will work with students at a public school to install plants, trees, and a rain garden on campus and improve it for outdoor, educational activities. The project will help improve the environmental health of the Delaware River, Schuylkill River, and Wissahickon Creek.
Dallas
Grantee: Trinity Commons Foundation
FedEx Grant Award: $25,000 / Match: $25,000
Project Date: April 20, 2012
Project Description: Volunteers will plant native grass and plants along the Santa Fe Trestle Trail and Trinity River, and clean up debris in the area which begins the Great Trinity Forest; all of this being part of the Trinity Corridor Project. http://www.trinitycommonsfoundation.org/
Indianapolis
Grantee: Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc.
FedEx Grant Award: $25,000 / Match: $50,562
Project Date: April 23, 2012
Project Description: Volunteers, neighbors, and project partners will plant 60 trees in the Garfield Park Memorial Grove.
Los Angeles
Grantee: Los Angeles Conservation Corps SEA Lab
FedEx Grant Award: $39,046 / Match: $53,265
Project Date: May 2, 2012
Project Description: Volunteers will participate in invasive plant removal, planting of California native plants, water and irrigation maintenance, and trash clean-up along the coastline of Santa Monica Bay between Ballona Creek and the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
Chicago
Grantee: Friends of the Forest Preserves
FedEx Grant Award: $24,886 / Match: $40,109
Project Date: May 12, 2012
Project Description: Volunteers will remove invasive species that threaten the native plants and animals at Dan Ryan Woods on Chicago's south side. Volunteers will help clear a rare woodland of invasive trees and shrubs that crowd out native wildflowers and grasses.
Colorado Springs
Grantee: Rocky Mountain Field Institute
FedEx Grant Award: $25,000/ Match: $159,209
Project Date: May 18, 2012
Project Description: Volunteers will close and restore trails and gullies in the Garden of the Gods Park to reduce soil loss and mitigate the flow of sediment into Fountain Creek.
Newark
Grantee: Branch Brook Park Alliance
FedEx Grant Award: $22,165 / Match: $72,220
Project Date: May, 18 2012
Project Description: Volunteers will remove invasive plant material and replant a stretch of the riparian buffer along the western shoreline of Branch Brook Park Lake.
Washington, D.C.
Grantee: Casey Trees Endowment Fund
FedEx Grant Award: $20,000 / Match: $30,000
Project Description: The FedEx grant will support the planting of over 400 trees on large urban land parcels.
Seattle
Grantee: EarthCorps
FedEx Grant Award: $24,880 / Match: $25,623
Project Date: May 30, 2012
Project Description: Volunteers will remove invasive plants from Dumas Bay Park and place mulch around native plants to reestablish a healthy habitat.
Miami
Grantee: Miami Science Museum
FedEx Grant Award: $24,991 / Match: $149,395
Project Date: June 9, 2012
Project Description: Volunteers will plant trees and shrubs at Oleta River State Park.
San Francisco
Grantee: Golden Gate National Park Conservancy
FedEx Grant Award: $40,000 / Match: $40,000
Project Date: June 27, 2012
Project Description: Volunteers will participate in native plantings and invasive plant removal near the Presidio's Coastal Bluffs to decrease erosion flow and improve habitat for birds and wildlife.
Boston
Grantee: Mystic River Watershed Association
FedEx Grant Award: $25,000 / Match: $8,000
Project Date: July 10, 2012
Project Description: Volunteers will remove invasive water chestnut plants from the Mystic River.
About FedEx Sustainability
FedEx is committed to connecting the world responsibly and resourcefully. We set long-term goals to reduce aircraft emissions intensity 20 percent by 2020, increase FedEx Express vehicle efficiency by 20 percent by 2020, and expand on-site renewable energy generation and procurement of renewable energy credits. FedEx works to achieve these ambitious goals through EarthSmart?a FedEx commitment to minimize our impact on the environment. EarthSmart is designed to encourage innovation that makes our business - the way we work and the services we offer?more sustainable, both economically and environmentally. The FedEx commitment has been recognized through inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, a global list of the world's largest, most sustainability organizations. FedEx has also placed 7th in Boston College's Reputation Institute 2011 CSR Index Top 50 Ranking and 2nd in the U.S. EPA Green Power Partnership Printer's List.
About FedEx Corp.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenues of $42 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 300,000 team members to remain "absolutely, positively" focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. For more information, visit news.fedex.com.
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