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. 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.