Washington, DC, August 26, 2004 – Heartlands International, which houses the Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI), has been awarded a five year, multi-million dollar contract from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to manage inquiries and undertake outreach activities related to international disaster response and relief efforts.

zcommunications, a national broadcast PR firm, and Hill & Knowlton, a global public relations and public affairs agency, will collaborate with CIDI to handle the public education and outreach portion of the contract. Other partners include the Contributions Academy, GlobalGiving, MissionFish and the US Chamber of Commerce.

CIDI's Director, Suzanne Brooks, said, "This award allows us to make sure we are saturating the market with important messages regarding appropriate public and corporate response to international disasters when they occur, as well as throughout the year. We are thrilled to be able to expand the work we've been doing since 1988 to provide immediate and effective assistance related to international emergencies."

The program will include an enhanced website and response center for public inquiries, messaging and relationship-building to increase awareness, targeted outreach to communities most likely to be involved in response activities and brochures, print, video and radio news releases to educate the public on effective ways to donate.