American Red Cross to Train More Disaster Volunteers Thanks to $265,000 Qwest Foundation Grant

Training for these disaster volunteers in western and mid-westernstates will be made possible in part by a grant from the QwestFoundation, the philanthropic program of Qwest Communications. This isthe second straight year the Qwest Foundation has provided this grantfor disaster volunteer training in Red Cross offices throughoutQwest's 14-state region.

"We're very grateful to Qwest for this important donation to theAmerican Red Cross for disaster training programs," said Joe Becker,senior vice president of preparedness and response for the AmericanRed Cross. "More than 97 percent of the work done by the American RedCross is done by volunteers. And as we participate in our largestdisaster response ever to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina,there's an acute need to train new volunteers to meet current andfuture challenges in responding to disasters. Qwest's importantcontribution to this effort will help us train thousands of volunteersand ensure the American Red Cross can continue to provide criticalservices to those in need."

Training courses will include the basics of American Red Crossdisaster response as well as skills needed in sheltering and caringfor survivors of disasters large and small. The primary role of RedCross disaster volunteers is to meet emergency basic needs ofsurvivors, including safe shelter, food, and medical and mental healthsupport.

"Qwest is committed to making a positive difference in thecommunities where employees live and work and is proud to be along-term partner of the American Red Cross," said Ric Padilla, vicepresident of corporate social responsibility for Qwest. "With theunprecedented disaster of Hurricane Katrina, it is essential forcompanies like Qwest to think about long-term community needs such aspreparedness and emergency response."

Please contact your local American Red Cross chapter for moreinformation on how to sign up for disaster response training. Newclasses are forming right now to help meet the Red Cross goal oftraining an additional 40,000 volunteers by Nov. 30.

About the Qwest Foundation

The Qwest Foundation's core principle is that investing in peopleand communities provides lasting value for the future. The QwestFoundation awards grants to community-based programs that generatehigh-impact and measurable results, focusing on K-12 education andeconomic development.

The Qwest Foundation's philosophy is to help build strongcommunities through investing in people and the places where they liveand work. For more information, contact www.qwest.com/foundation.

About the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross is where people mobilize to help theirneighbors -- across the street, across the country and across theworld -- in emergencies. Each year, in communities large and small,victims of some 70,000 disasters turn to neighbors familiar and new --the nearly 1 million volunteers and 35,000 employees of the Red Cross.Through almost 900 locally supported chapters, more than 15 millionpeople gain the skills they need to prepare for and respond toemergencies in their homes, communities and world. Some 4 millionpeople give blood -- the gift of life -- through the Red Cross, makingit the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the UnitedStates. The Red Cross helps thousands of U.S. service membersseparated from their families by military duty stay connected. As partof the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, a globalnetwork of 181 national societies, the Red Cross helps restore hopeand dignity to the world's most vulnerable people. An average of 91cents of every Dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarianservices and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; itrelies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work. MarshaJ. Evans is the President and CEO of the American Red Cross.