Our Founder: Jim Casey

Jim Casey's father, Henry Joseph, moved his family from a small gold-mining town in Nevada to bustling Seattle when Jim was very young. At age 11, Jim was forced to leave school to help support the family because of his father's failing health. Two years later in 1902, Henry Joseph died, leaving behind four children and his wife, Annie.

Jim began earning money for his family by delivering mail and small packages on his bicycle. After five years, he had saved $100 and, with his brother George and two friends, founded a messenger service. Jim was 19 years old.

The business flourished and in 1919, Jim and George expanded Merchants Parcel Delivery to Oakland, California, where it was renamed United Parcel Service (UPS). In 1930, Jim moved UPS to New York City. UPS became one of the nation's largest and strongest corporations, known for its respect for individuals and loyalty to its "family" of employees.

As UPS prospered, Jim never forgot his heritage and commitment to help young people in difficult circumstances. In 1948, Jim and his siblings created the Annie E. Casey Foundation to honor their mother who had worked so hard to keep their family together after the death of her husband.

The importance of Annie E. Casey in Jim's life is evident in a passage he wrote about his mother in 1947:

"My mother...managed to carry on alone. With uncommon prudence and frugality, she maintained for her three sons and a baby daughter the comfort and security of a home. She always kept our clothes clean and mended, and had a warm, nourishing meal ready, regardless of the hour at which we were able to get home from work to eat it. Mother gave us encouragement and inspiration, and she instilled in us a code of ethics, without which I hate to think what might have happened in later years."