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CARE is one of the world's largest private humanitarian organizations. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, we're part of an international confederation of 11 member organizations committed to helping communities in the developing world achieve lasting victories over poverty.
The scope of our mission has changed considerably since our founding in 1945, when 22 American organizations came together to rush lifesaving CARE Packages to survivors of World War II. Thousands of Americans, including President Harry S. Truman contributed to the effort. (Get QuickTime to watch this video of the president.) On May 11, 1946, the first 20,000 packages reached the battered port of Le Havre, France. Some 100 million more CARE Packages reached people in need during the next two decades, first in Europe and later in Asia and other parts of the developing world.
Over the years, our work has expanded as we've addressed the world's most threatening problems. In the 1950s, we expanded into emerging nations and used U.S. surplus food to feed the hungry. In the 1960s, we pioneered primary health care programs. In the 1970s, CARE responded to massive famines in Africa with both emergency relief and long-term agroforestry projects, integrating environmentally sound tree- and land-management practices with farming programs.
Today, our staff of more than 12,000 -- most of whom are citizens of the countries where we work-- help strengthen communities through an array of programs that work to create lasting solutions to root causes of poverty.
Our Name
We've always been known by the acronym "CARE," but the meaning behind the letters has changed as our mission has broadened. When we were founded in 1945, CARE stood for "Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe." Today, with projects in more than 60 countries around the world, CARE stands for "Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, Inc."
The CARE Package®
"Every CARE Package is a personal contribution to the world peace our nation seeks. It expresses America's concern and friendship in a language all peoples understand."
— President John F. Kennedy, 1962
| The first CARE Packages are unloaded at Le Havre, France, on May 11, 1946. |
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The first CARE Packages were U.S. Army surplus "10-in-1" food parcels intended to provide one meal for 10 soldiers during the planned invasion of Japan. We obtained them at the end of World War II and began a service that let Americans send the packages to friends and families in Europe, where millions were in danger of starvation. Ten dollars bought a CARE Package and guaranteed that its addressee would receive it within four months.
When the "10-in-1" parcels ran out, we began assembling our own food packages, greatly assisted by donations from American companies. At first, senders had to designate a specific person as the recipient, but soon CARE was flooded with donations to send CARE Packages to "a hungry occupant of a thatched cottage," "a school teacher in Germany," and so on.
Decades ago, we largely phased out the CARE Package as we expanded the breadth of our work, focusing on long-term projects in addition to emergency relief. However, it remains a powerful symbol of the compassion and generosity of those who support our vision of a world free of poverty and suffering.
View the CARE timeline.
What was in the first CARE Packages?
- one pound of beef in broth
- one pound of steak and kidneys
- 8 ounces of liver loaf
- 8 ounces of corned beef
- 12 ounces of luncheon loaf (like Spam®)
- 8 ounces of bacon
- 2 pounds of margarine
- one pound of lard
- one pound of fruit preserves
- one pound of honey
- one pound of raisins
- one pound of chocolate
- 2 pounds of sugar
- 8 ounces of egg powder
- 2 pounds of whole-milk powder
- 2 pounds of coffee
Later CARE Packages included food for different cultural diets and non-food items such as carpentry tools, blankets, school supplies and medicine.
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