GE employees around the world donated a total of $3.8 million to the Red Cross/Red Crescent and UNICEF for tsunami relief efforts, which was matched by the GE Foundation and augmented by an additional $1.1 million in grants. GE donated more than $10 million in equipment and services, including two water purification systems to Indonesia that have the capacity to provide potable water for tens of thousands of people daily. Two telethons hosted by NBC Universal on its television stations and its broadcast and cable platforms raised approximately $32 million. In total, the GE family donated more than $19 million and helped raise millions more.
The GE family continued its strategic philanthropic efforts as well. We completed the first year of a five-year, $20 million project to improve the infrastructure of hospitals and clinics in Africa with donations of healthcare and power generation equipment, water filtration systems, appliances and lighting.
The GE Foundation invested in improving the equity and quality of and access to education with a total of $52 million in grants worldwide. Many of those efforts were bolstered by the work of GE volunteers.
In 2004, contributions from the GE Foundation, GE businesses, and employees and retirees totaled over $150 million and more than one million volunteer hours for key community initiatives.
GE was honored to receive broad recognition for our citizenship initiatives. GE received the Catalyst Award for excellence in developing and promoting women, and the Executive Leadership Council Award for excellence in our work with African-American employees. And GE was added to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, joining a highly selective group of companies representing the top 10% in 60 industry groups across 34 countries chosen for their environmental, social and economic programs.
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