DHL Focuses Efforts and Resources to Help With the Economic Revitalization of New Orleans

DHL Focuses Efforts and Resources to Help With the Economic Revitalization of New Orleans

Express Delivery Company Establishes 'Jazz Quest', April 28 to May 4, to Let the Good Times Roll in New Orleans During The Annual Jazz Fest, April 28 to May 7

PLANTATION, Fla., April 17 /PRNewswire/ -- DHL, the global leader in express delivery and logistics, wants music enthusiasts to dine, dance and do some good deeds during Jazz Fest in New Orleans as the company rolls out its "Dedicated to Helping Louisiana" (DHL) initiative, an extension of its corporate citizenship relief and recovery efforts to help the Gulf Coast following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

DHL's continuing relief initiative includes "Jazz Quest," an effort to support small businesses and preserve musical heritage in New Orleans during the upcoming annual 2006 Jazz & Heritage Festival, otherwise known as Jazz Fest, April 28 to 30 and May 5 to 7.

DHL's Jazz Quest economic initiative, which runs in tandem with Jazz Fest from April 28 to May 4, was created to benefit local entrepreneurs by creating activities and musical events that are specifically designed to drive business to approximately 40 small- to mid-sized businesses. Corporate citizenship activities conducted during this time will include an extension of a grant program for New Orleans area microentrepreneurs, and an effort to help rebuild the city's musical heritage through a special VIP fund-raising concert and dinner event, where local and national celebrities will celebrate and make contributions to a foundation supporting New Orleans' musical community.

Jazz Quest extends and complements DHL's prior efforts to help the Gulf Coast with its recovery after last year's devastating hurricane season. DHL immediately donated up to $500,000 of in-kind shipping services toward relief efforts for victims in the Gulf Coast right after Hurricane Katrina; and by September 2005, total DHL contributions to hurricane relief efforts exceeded $1 million. This included:

* $500,000 of in-kind shipping services
* Donations to the American Red Cross facilitated through DHL's home page
at http://www.dhl-usa.com/
* More than $300,000 in donated labor and other costs to support the work
of the DHL Disaster Response Team
* Approximately $200,000 in employee donations matched by the company for
the DHL Employee Relief Fund and American Red Cross disaster relief
efforts.

"Everyone recognizes the importance of music in the culture of New Orleans," said John Mullen, Joint Chief Executive Officer, DHL Express. "Recognizing our corporate social responsibility to extend the relief efforts that we had started last year, we looked for opportunities to do so in a personable, hands-on manner. Through the establishment of Jazz Quest, DHL has taken a fun, interactive, grass roots approach to both promote patronage of local businesses and benefit New Orleans' rich musical heritage."

DHL Jazz Quest Events: Celebrations for a Cause

Jazz Quest directly supports 40 New Orleans' French Quarter merchants ranging from clothing boutiques and photo galleries to restaurants and gift shops. DHL has engaged street teams to reach out to visiting music enthusiasts and locals attending Jazz Fest with information on the participating merchants to increase customer traffic in the establishments and help spur economic activity.

Advertising designed to drive business to Jazz Quest establishments includes mobile billboards, print display ads in local newspapers and drops of print materials in local New Orleans hotels. All of these efforts are designed to raise visibility of Jazz Fest and Jazz Quest in an effort to seek as much participation as possible to stimulate the local economy and celebrate the musical heritage of New Orleans.

With each purchase at a participating merchant, shoppers will receive DHL Jazz Quest beads and a DHL Jazz Quest entry ticket, which automatically gives them an opportunity to take part in a prize-winning entry drawing. Fifty grand prize winners of the drawing will receive a pair of tickets to a private entertainment fundraiser at The Foundry on May 5. The fundraising event includes New Orleans dignitaries and celebrities and will feature dinner prepared by acclaimed celebrity chef Tyler Florence of the Food Network(TM). The festivities will begin at 7 p.m. and include local New Orleans musical talent "Kermit Ruffins & The Barbecue Swingers" and a concert headlined by a two-time GRAMMY(R) award-winning recording artist.

One of the highlights of the evening is a special silent auction to benefit The Tipitina's Foundation, a non-profit organization working to uplift the music community of New Orleans. Auction items include artwork, tickets to Major League Baseball games, jewelry, airline tickets, autographed musical instruments, GRAMMY(R) Awards passes, tickets to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Olympus Fashion Week tickets, exclusive dinner packages, iPods, autographed sports memorabilia and others.

An additional 50 Jazz Quest participants will receive a pair of general admission tickets for the May 6 and May 7 Jazz Fest performances. To win prizes, all participants must submit their Jazz Quest raffle tickets in specially marked Jazz Quest boxes at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 4 during the "DHL Experience" event located at Riverwalk's Spanish Plaza, and be present at the time of the 5 p.m. drawing to win. In addition to the drawings at the plaza, everyone will be treated to a live band and other entertainment and prizes.

Additional local efforts

DHL will be getting a head start on its Jazz Quest efforts on April 27, when DHL will deliver $25,000 worth of musical instruments to the Sophie B. Wright Charter School in New Orleans donated by DHL and the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation (http://www.mhopus.org/). Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation supports music education through the donation of new and refurbished musical instruments to underserved schools, community music programs and individual students nationwide.

The Sophie B. Wright Charter School currently has an enrollment of about 300 fourth through eighth grade students. In an effort to re-establish a strong musical connection between the rich New Orleans music heritage and area schools, the school's band director is in the process of creating a marching band program with a current enrollment of 50 children. With interest in the program continuing to grow in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, the school is focusing its sights on a first-ever performance in next year's Mardi Gras celebrations, showcasing the resurgence of New Orleans musical traditions. DHL will be transporting the instruments from Sherman Oaks, Calif., with air cargo arrival in New Orleans scheduled for April 27.

In its continued effort to support small businesses, DHL will also make a grant donation of $10,000 to 10 deserving New Orleans area artist-related microbusinesses during Jazz Quest.

A microbusiness is defined as a business with five or fewer employees requiring up to $35,000 in start-up capital. These $1,000 grants assist businesses with the start-up capital they need to get their establishments up and running and give them the foundation they need to succeed. In partnership with NewCorp Business Assistance Center and the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, a special presentation to DHL grant recipients will be held on May 5. The microbusiness grantees will also be honored at the dinner event held at The Foundry later that night starting at 6 p.m.

For more information on Jazz Quest activities, please visit our DHL Jazz Quest website at http://www.dhl-usa.com/jazzquest/.

About The Tipitina's Foundation

The mission of The Tipitina's Foundation is to provide New Orleans schools with musical instruments, to give music students and adult musicians a broader exposure to the music business through "musicianship" education and to increase the profile and viability of New Orleans music as a cultural, educational and business economic resource through the Tipitina's music co-op offices. For more information on The Tipitina's Foundation, please visit http://www.tipitinasfoundation.org/.

About DHL

At DHL, Customer Service is back in shipping. Our mission is to provide the most flexible, personable and enjoyable experience in the shipping industry for our customers.

DHL is the global market leader of the international express and logistics industry, specializing in providing innovative and customized solutions from a single source.

DHL offers expertise in express, air and ocean freight, overland transport and logistics solutions, combined with worldwide coverage and an in-depth understanding of local markets. Over 285,000 employees are dedicated to providing fast and reliable services that exceed customers' expectations. Founded in San Francisco in 1969, DHL's international network links more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. For more information on DHL, please visit http://www.dhl.com/.

Source: DHL

CONTACT: Richard Gibbs, Public Relations Manager of DHL Americas,
+1-954-888-7114, USA.Pressoffice@dhl.com

Web site: http://www.dhl.com/
http://www.tipitinasfoundation.org/
http://www.mhopus.org/
http://www.dhl-usa.com/jazzquest

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