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Operation USA

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Operation USA (aka Operation California, In.)
File:Operation-usa.png
Founded 1979, with its California incorporation date in May 1980
Founder Richard M. Walden
Focus Disaster relief, Sustainable relief, Healthcare, Ending poverty
Location
Area served
 Global
Key people
 Richard M. Walden, President and CEO
Julie Andrews
[fmr US Senator Gary Hart]
Dr. Louis J. Ignarro

Jonathan Estrin Board member, Gary Larsen Vice Chairman; L. Leland Whitney, Bob Johnson, Lorin Stevenson, Meg Starr, Maria Mohiuddin Verjee, Tom Moore, Jr., Drew Hagen, Dave Brubaker, Dr. Stanley Frileck, Dr. Laurence Heifetz, Michael Mahdesian(Chairman), Jack Shakely, Jeff Franklin, Amb. Derek Shearer, Julie Yannatta, Richard M. Walden, Rosario Dawson, Rick Allen, Peter Greenberg, Julie Yannatta, Dr. Paul F. O'Rourke
Slogan Give and it gets there.
Website www.opusa.org

Operation USA (OpUSA, Operation California, or OpCal) is a non profit humanitarian organization dedicated to helping communities alleviate the effects of disaster, disease, and endemic poverty throughout the world by providing privately funded relief, reconstruction, humanitarian aid and development aid. It is exclusively privately funded, receiving no assistance from the United States Federal Government. OPUSA had a revenue of over $22 million in fiscal year 2012 and has shipped over $425 million worth of "high-priority medical, nutritional and shelter supplies" since its inception, including shipments to Haiti, Japan, Chile, Kenya and Pakistan in 2011 and 2011.[1][2]

Awards and affiliations

Operation USA was part of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in 1997 when it won the Nobel Peace Prize.[3][4] Operation California was also the winner of the 1983 President's Volunteer Action Award.[4] Operation USA has been named one of America's Best 100 Charities by Worth Magazine[5] and, in October 2008, was named the top-rated "exclusively privately funded charity in the U.S." [6] by Charity Navigator. Operation USA collaborated with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the US National Laboratories at Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos to develop new approaches to land mine detection,[7] is a member of InterAction,[5] and is an AlertNet news partner.[8] In 2014 Operation USA's CEO Richard M. Walden received the Honeywell Hometown Hero Award from the Honeywell Corp.

History

Operation California began in 1979 as "a relief organization created to provide aid to Vietnamese Boat People and Cambodian refugees",[9] founded by Richard Walden (still active as President & CEO) and Llewellyn Werner (who left in early 1980). The organization flew "the first international relief airlift to Cambodia since 1975",[10] delivering medicine to Phnom-Penh. Operation California had airlifted more than $3 million worth of aid by October 1979.[11][12][13][14]

Since then, Operation USA has become a highly acclaimed aid organization that is involved in helping people in different ways around the world. In 1982, Operation California sent "the first private airlift from the U.S. to Poland", delivering 200,000 lbs. of medical supplies and medicine;[15] that year Operation California also airlifted medical supplies to Lebanon.[16] In 1983, Operation California delivered aid to the children of Vietnam and Cambodia.[17] Operation California provided aid to the earthquake victims in Mexico City in 1985,[18] as well as working in cooperation with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and Oxfam America, to deliver $250,000 worth of medical aid to Nicaragua.[19][20] In 1986 Operation California, in conjunction with Medical Aid to El Salvador, sent "[t]wo cargo planes carrying $500,000 worth of relief supplies to earthquake-stricken El Salvador".[21]

In 1988, Operation California began using the name Operation USA because it better described the effort and intent of the organization to represent the entire American people.[10] In 1989 Operation USA facilitated operations on children in Vietnam who had cleft palates by a Los Angeles-based plastic surgeon, Dr Stanley Frileck.[22] Medical aid effort was delivered to Mexico in 1990, by OPUSA in conjunction with USSR relief workers.[23] In 1991 OPUSA delivered aid to Bangladesh.[24] OpUSA delivered aid to war torn Somali's in 1993.[25] In 1994 OpUSA provided earthquake relief.[26] In 1995 the organization provided aid to Hurricane Mitch survivors in Honduras and Nicaragua.[27] In 1999 OpUSA supplied aid to storm victims in Mexico.[28] In 2003 OpUSA delivered aid to Iraq War victims in the Persian Gulf.[29] The tsunami victims in Sri Lanka and Indonesia were aided by OpUSA in 2004,[30] as well as the Mexico City Flood victims.[18]

In 2008, OpUSA has delivered aid to Myanmar cyclone victims[31] as well as Chinese earthquake victims[32] and flood victims in the Midwest, USA.[33]

In 2015, OpUsa partners with UniversalGiving to raise fund for its project, which is to deliver recovery aid to Nepal Earthquake victims.

Celebrity affiliates

Operation USA, since the early 1980s, has relied on fundraising efforts featuring singers and celebrities. These include concerts, dinners, and other events. These promotions have featured:

Rosario Dawson travelled with Operation USA to Nicaragua in 2008. George Hamilton assisted with relief to The Philippines Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 as did Barbra Streisand, Rosario Dawson, Jackson Browne, Bill Maher and Judd Apatow.

Film and theater projects

Operation USA also relies on film and theater promotions to generate funds that pay for aid, including:

References

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  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 35.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 36.4 36.5 36.6 36.7 36.8 36.9 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
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  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 41.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links

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