Carriers prepare for the crush of holiday shipping

Shipping volumes are expected to break records; deadlines near.

Carriers are encouraging gift givers to ship their packages this week to ensure delivery before Christmas Day.

The holiday season is already a bustling time of year, but with the number of people opting to shop online, COVID-19 impacts and the possibility of bad weather, carriers with FedEx, UPS and the USPS are hiring extra help and extending hours to ensure all packages are delivered before the holiday.

“Online shopping and shipping volumes this holiday season are expected to break records. The exponential growth of e-commerce, underscored by the COVID19 pandemic, will continue during the 2020 holiday season, with more packages hitting our network than ever before,” said FedEx communications advisor Heather Wilson.

FedEx is projecting a 22% increase in package delivery this year from 2019 and the postal service hired about 800 additional employees for the holiday.

Shipping

start in the spring semester and is named in honor of the architect of the historic August 1963 civil rights march on Washington. Rustin was a student at Wilber- force in the 1930s.

Dominion’s gift has helped Wilberforce buy laptops for all enrolled students and faculty for the fall semester’s remote learning. The school’s academic schedule was adjusted for off campus study because of concerns about the coronavirus.

Zillah Fluker, the vice pres- ident of advancement at Central State, said this donation will help the university prepare students for jobs in the STEM and energy industries.

“This is a great opportunity to expose a different profile to the energy industry,” Fluker said. “A gift of this size allows for so many opportunities and we are so thankful to be included.”

Fluker said this gift, since it was given to other HBCUs, will allow for further collaboration between those HBCUs and “further strengthen the HBCU network.”

“Dominion has supported HBCUs for nearly 40 years,” said Dominion spokeswoman Tracy Oliver. “We recognize the role these institutions play in the advancement of African Americans and the role education plays as an equalizer in society.”

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