Community Involvement —
Donation Cargo Program
POLICY FOR DONATION CARGO ON L&C VESSELS TO LIBERIA
The Firestone operations in Liberia require significant rebuilding after 14 years of intermittent war. Large amounts of materials and equipment are required to be shipped to Liberia to meet this need. As a matter of general policy, only Firestone official cargo or prepaid third party cargo will be allowed on L&C vessels.
However, the humanitarian needs of Liberia are also great. Therefore, again in 2010, Firestone will make several containers worth of space available for relief goods and other donation cargo on each L&C ship to Liberia. Application for this space will only be open to qualified 501(c)(3) charitable organizations. For qualifying and approved donation cargo, Firestone Liberia will provide the ocean voyage portion of the shipment of such cargo from the U.S. to Liberia as part of its 2010 Donation Cargo Program.
Charitable organizations requesting assistance should fill out the attached application and e-mail it to donationcargo@firestonenaturalrubber.com together with a scanned copy of their 501(c)(3) certificate and supporting documentation. Applications will be acknowledged, accepted and processed via that address only.
Unless otherwise specified by Firestone, relief cargo will be shipped on a pre-approved basis from the Port of Baltimore, MD, USA to Liberia. Firestone will arrange for loading the cargo at the Port of Baltimore and for offloading the cargo at the Port of Monrovia. Your organization will be notified if approval has been given, and you will be provided with detailed instructions for shipping your cargo.
Shippers will be responsible for obtaining their own 20-ft. container for the cargo, for preparation of all packing lists, and for meeting customs, security and other pre-shipment manifesting and other requirements at the loading and discharge ports. Shippers will also be responsible for all costs involved in getting their cargo to the loading port and from the Port of Monrovia to the consignee in Liberia, and for all port receiving and freight forwarding charges. These costs will be advised by our freight forwarder after receipt of the shipper's application showing the weight of the container to be shipped. Pre-payment of the above costs will be required before any cargo can be received or loaded aboard assigned vessels. Firestone will not be responsible for the return or condition of shipping containers from Liberia.
Type of Cargo Allowed: non-perishable foodstuffs, medical supplies, new/used clothing, school books and supplies. Firestone will not donate space for vehicles, farming equipment, or items intended for commercial use.
Packing of Cargo: Cargo must be packed in 20-ft. containers. Only shipper-owned, certified-seaworthy containers can be accepted and must be delivered to the Firestone port area in Baltimore for loading aboard the vessel.
Information for Documentation: Detailed packing lists must accompany the cargo. Firestone will not provide marine insurance for donation/relief cargo. If a shipper wishes to have its cargo insured, it must arrange it themselves and pay the cost.
Re-application: There is virtually unlimited demand for donation of this service. Once an organization has been approved for a container shipment, it will be ineligible to apply again for the remainder of the year.
This program may be modified or discontinued at any time, without cause, liability, or notice, at Firestone's discretion.
Donation Cargo Application (Adobe PDF)
E-mail application to donationcargo@firestonenaturalrubber.com together with a scanned copy of their 501(C)(3) certificate.
Applications will only be accepted at and responded to via that address.
