PLANTATION, Fla. – December 1, 2010 – For the seventh straight year, DHL, the world’s leading logistics company, has teamed up with the New York community to donate and deliver hundreds of holiday trees, decorations and messages of support to U.S. troops serving abroad through its ‘DHL Operation Holiday Cheer’ charitable program. The special holiday shipment will receive a send-off celebration on Monday, December 6, from a New York area nursery as well as DHL’s international gateway facility at John F. Kennedy International Airport. 

DHL has donated all transportation and logistical services for the trees and holiday items being delivered to Servicemembers in Iraq, Afghanistan and Bahrain. Five hundred real trees along with lights, tinsel and holiday decorations as well as “Santa Sacks” filled with thousands of holiday cards written by New York area schoolchildren will be transported to U.S. troops overseas. The shipment was generously supplied through donations from New York businesses and community organizations, including Dee’s Nursery, Adelis International Security, Adopt-a-Soldier Platoon, Proctor-Hopson Post 1896 Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and other members of the New York metro community. 

Monday’s send-off will commence at 10:00 a.m. at Dees Nursery in Oceanside, New York, where the trees and holiday items will be loaded onto DHL vehicles for a police escort to DHL’s gateway facility at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). A 12:00 noon ceremony at JFK will feature entertainment by the USO Liberty Bells, school children reading their personal letters to the troops and the loading of trees and holiday items onto a DHL 767 aircraft. The shipment will lift off for DHL’s European hub in East Midlands UK, where it will then transit through DHL’s Middle East hub and be forwarded for distribution to military units throughout Iraq, Afghanistan and Bahrain.

“As the specialists in international shipping, DHL is proud to leverage its international expertise and extensive global network to help U.S. Servicemembers in Iraq, Afghanistan and Bahrain feel just a bit closer to home this holiday season with the delivery of this special, community-donated care package,” said Ian Clough, CEO of DHL Express, USA. 

DHL has also helped honor and support U.S. Servicemembers stationed thousands of miles away through its charitable partnership with Pizzas 4 Patriots, sending thousands of care packages per year, or “slices of home” to U.S. troops serving abroad. DHL is uniquely positioned to support U.S. servicemen and women at bases on 6 continents, providing its international shipping expertise wherever U.S. military serve around the world.

About DHL
DHL – The Logistics company for the world
DHL is the global market leader in the logistics industry and “The Logistics company for the world”. DHL commits its expertise in international express, air and ocean freight, road and rail transportation, contract logistics and international mail services to its customers. A global network composed of more than 220 countries and territories and about 300,000 employees worldwide offers customers superior service quality and local knowledge to satisfy their supply chain requirements. DHL accepts its social responsibility by supporting climate protection, disaster management and education.

DHL is part of Deutsche Post DHL. The Group generated revenue of more than 46 billion euros in 2009.

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