HUMMER partners with Red Cross to coordinate disaster transportation

| 12.17.2007 | 03:36:259320 |

December 17 '07: Hummer has been working with the American Red Cross to coordinate and provide emergency vehicle and transportation services during emergencies through a program called HUMMER Owners Prepared for Emergencies (HOPE).

Begun in 2004, the partnership allows "qualifying (HUMMER owners) as Red Cross volunteers who can be deployed by the local chapters of Red Cross to drive supplies and Red Cross personnel into disaster areas where other vehicles might not be able to reach," the HUMMER HOPE website read.

The program was developed over the course of two years, culminating in an statement of understanding with the American Red Cross of South Bend. In a press release from 2004, the Red Cross said that $4 million was provided by the GM Foundation.

After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, an additional press release said that beginning in October of that year and then "Through 2010, a total of 72 HUMMER vehicles, which will include a combination of H1, H2, and H3 models will be donated" to the areas most affected by the storm.