CARE Package facts for kids

A CARE Package was the first type of help sent by the organization CARE. This group was first called the Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe. In 1946, CARE sent the world's very first CARE Package.

Even though "CARE Package" is a special brand name, people now often use the term more generally. It means any box of food or supplies sent to help someone or make them feel better.

How CARE Packages Started

In 1945, a new group called CARE was formed. Its goal was to send food to Europe. Many people there were in danger of starving after World War II.

Two people, Arthur Ringland and Dr. Lincoln Clark, talked to 22 American charities. They suggested creating a non-profit group. This group would send food boxes from Americans to their family and friends in Europe. The charities agreed, and CARE officially started on November 27, 1945.

CARE's leaders worked with the U.S. Army. They got almost 3 million special food rations. These were called "10-in-1" food parcels. The Army had saved them for a planned invasion of Japan that never happened. These food boxes were like early versions of today's "Meals Ready to Eat" (MREs). They were sent to Europe and became the world's first CARE Packages.

Six months later, the first CARE Packages arrived. They reached the city of Le Havre, France, which had been badly damaged by the war.

Who Helped Start CARE?

Many different groups helped create CARE and the original CARE Package. Here are some of them:

• American Friends Service Committee
• American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, INC
• International Rescue and Relief Committee
• Save the Children Federation
• YMCA- World Emergency and War Victims Fund
• Catholic Relief Services

Sending the Packages Out

The first 20,000 CARE Packages arrived in Le Havre, France, on May 11, 1946.

At first, you had to name a specific person to receive a package. But over time, this changed. Packages were then sent to certain areas that needed help, rather than to individual people.

On June 5, 1946, it became allowed to send CARE packages to occupied Germany. General Lucius D. Clay signed an agreement on June 6. This allowed packages to be given out in the U.S. part of Germany. The British also signed the agreement on June 21. Later, in December 1946, Marie Pierre Kœnig signed it for the French part of Germany.

The first CARE packages for the U.S. zone arrived in Bremen in August 1946. For the French zone, the first packages were given out in Freiburg in December 1946. By 1960, CARE had sent 83,000 tons of aid to West Germany. Operations continued in West Berlin until 1962.

In the 1960s, CARE slowly stopped sending individual CARE Packages. The organization began to focus more on long-term projects, not just emergency help.

CARE Package Today (2020)

In May 2020, CARE brought back the idea of the CARE Package. This was to help people during the COVID-19 Pandemic. For the first time, the United States was included in the list of countries needing urgent help.

CARE launched "CARE Packages for Frontline Heroes" and "CARE Package Relief." These were CARE's first aid efforts focused on the U.S. CARE also started "CARE Packages for Global Communities." This allowed people to support COVID-19 efforts in countries like Ecuador and Sierra Leone.

Today's CARE Package program helps many people. It supports medical workers, caregivers, and anyone in need. It also helps communities in the U.S. and around the world affected by the pandemic. This help can be digital, physical, or financial. The program provides money, food, and important supplies to those who need them.

See also

• GARIOA
• CRALOG
• UNRRA
• Special Kindness In Packages, Inc.
• HeroBox
• Westpaket