Feb 26, 2010
Open Systems International, Inc. (OSI) and its employees have successfully completed an internal fundraising drive to support the survivors of the recent earthquake in Haiti with generated proceeds going to the American Red Cross International Disaster Relief Fund; in support of the Haiti disaster relief and redevelopment efforts.
With a team pursuing various humanitarian efforts in Haiti since 2004, the American Red Cross was in a position to offer immediate support following the devastating series of earthquakes on January 12th, 2010. Now more than a month later, the American Red Cross has been spearheading the comprehensive relief and redevelopment efforts in Haiti, having thus far spent or allocated over $80 million in meeting the earthquake survivors most urgent needs; including food, water, shelter and sanitation. Recognizing a long road ahead, the American Red Cross is continuing to work with its partners as part of a broader and coordinated Red Cross and Red Crescent initiative towards Haiti's long-term recovery efforts, through this initial relief phase and into the future.
In light of the disaster in Haiti, OSI decided to organize an internal fundraising drive; whereby employees were encouraged to submit donations for the American Red Cross International Disaster Relief Fund, with OSI providing matching contributions of 2-to-1, as well as a base donation. Through setting an optimistic internal challenge for total donations, OSI employees were prompted to generously give whatever they felt was within their means. Achieving an impressive level of success and demonstrating a highly charitable nature, OSI's Haiti relief drive ended with a final total of nearly double the preset donation challenge.
"OSI carries with it a strong corporate philosophy; that along with our international status and success there also comes a fundamental responsibility to our global neighbors. Given this position, the situation in Haiti constituted an overt mandate for us to offer support in some way. Taking into account the current state of the economy and the measures being taken by many individuals and corporations to stay within limited budgets, OSI and its employees are very grateful to be in such a position where we were able to help others in need," said Bahman Hoveida, President and CEO of OSI.
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization—not a government agency—and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join the blog at http://blog.redcross.org.
OSI (www.osii.com) provides open, state-of-the-art and high-performance automation solutions to utilities worldwide. These solutions include Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, Network Management Systems (NMS), Energy Management Systems (EMS), Distribution Management Systems (DMS) and Generation Management Systems (GMS); as well as individual software and hardware products and SmartGrid and Security solutions for utility operations. OSI is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
For additional information regarding this news release, please contact news@osii.com.
