"I was honored to have been asked. This is one of the really great non profit organizations in the United States and does unbelievable work around the world."

AmeriCares has officially welcomed a new member onto its Board of Directors. Keith McAllister of Greenwich was elected earlier this month has been the chairman of AmeriCares Media Advisory Committee. He will now oversee humanitarian aid programs including disaster response work and medical aid deliveries in developing countries.

"I'm hoping that the message can get out to more people that when they think about how to do good in the world," said McAllister. "How to support victims of Hurricane Sandy, how to support the victims of Katrina, how to help HIV positive children in Guatemala, how to deal with dysentery in Africa, that when they think about how they can do good in the world, they come to understand that AmeriCares is an organization, which does incredibly effective work and that their money has more impact in AmeriCares than practically any other non-profit organization."

AmeriCares is a non-profit disaster relief and humanitarian organization delivering aid to over 90 countries annually. The organization's headquarters is based in Stamford and also has four other offices around the world.  

"We're active overseas as well as here in the U.S., said Communications Manager Donna Porstner. "We're very active in Connecticut. We have three clinics and we also deliver to clinics in the United States. We support over 400 safety net clinics in the United States."

McAllister has worked in the news media for 25 years, which included senior executive roles at CNN and Thomson Reuters, and says he has seen firsthand the need for disaster relief.

"Half my career was as a journalist. I was at CNN and I got a chance to travel the world and see a lot of different things, so I have a deep apprecication for what AmeriCares does."

Since 1982 AmeriCares has distributed more than $10 billion in humanitarian aid to 164 countries. For more information on organization and how to donate visit Americares.org.