Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) recently made a $100,000 donation to Partners of Parks for the development of the first Universally Accessible Playground in the City of Long Beach. Inspired by an organization called Shane's Inspiration, the playground will bring disabled children and their able-bodied peers together to play -- eliminating bias towards disabled children. According to Chris Kozaites, President of Partners of Parks, there are over 115,000 children younger than 12 in Long Beach, including more than 10,000 documented as having a disability.

In 2007, OOCL contributed to the community of Long Beach by donating Port of Long Beach Green Flag clean air rebates – estimated at more than $140,000 – to local community groups. The clean air rebates were earned through the Port of Long Beach’s Green Flags program where container lines like OOCL receive discounted dockage rates in return for improving air quality by slowing their ships’ speeds within 20 miles of the harbor.

“This is extremely generous of OOCL,” said Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster in the Long Beach Press Telegram. “OOCL is a leader in helping to clean the air and is taking the lead again by developing a philanthropic partnership.”

“At OOCL, we embrace community responsibility as one of our core values,” said Phillip Chow, Chief Executive Officer of OOCL. “That includes demonstrating our concern for protecting the environment. And it includes reinvesting in communities such as Long Beach, which have contributed so much to our success.”

Since 1980, OOCL has operated at the Long Beach Container Terminal, and has been repeatedly honored as the best container terminal in North America by its customers.