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American Red Cross Receives $250,000 From Wal-Mart And Sam's Club
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Friday, January 19, 2007 |
Red Cross is hopeful that Wal-Mart’s commitment will encourage other corporations to provide support.
Washington D.C., January 19, 2007 – In response to several severe winter storms that have blasted across the U.S., the American Red Cross has received its first substantial corporate donation to provide support for disaster relief. Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club today announced a commitment of $250,000 to enable quick response to those affected by these storms.
Since January 12, the Red Cross has been providing food, shelter, counseling and other assistance across four states most critically affected by the winter blast – Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri. Currently, the organization has served more than 84,000 meals and snacks through 43 deployed mobile feeding units. In addition, more than 46 shelters have been opened across the four affected states, and the Red Cross is distributing preparedness information to residents and community organizations to help prevent secondary disasters. Another storm system is moving across the country, which may cause more damage and power outages in other areas.
“The American Red Cross is the way neighbors help neighbors in disasters,” said Jack McGuire, interim president and CEO of the American Red Cross. “We are profoundly grateful to Wal-Mart for being good neighbors to the countless people affected by the severe winter storms. Because of their generosity, the Red Cross is able to provide warmth and comfort to people who lost their power during the storm.”
Wal-Mart has long been recognized as a corporate leader in the area of disaster relief. The company in 2005 helped the victims of Hurricane Katrina by donating more than $32 million in cash to aid emergency relief efforts, which included $2 million in contributions to the Red Cross. Last year, Wal-Mart provided more than $2 million in disaster relief funds to assist with everything from floods and tornadoes to wildfires and winter storms nationwide. A long-standing partnership between Wal-Mart and the American Red Cross has made many of these efforts possible.
“Given the widespread devastation caused by this week’s winter storms, we felt that it was important to step up and help our friends at the Red Cross with relief efforts,” said Ray Bracy, vice president of corporate affairs for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. “We hope that Wal-Mart is just the first of many companies to partner with the Red Cross to respond to the needs of those who have been negatively impacted by these terrible storms.”
About the American Red Cross
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like winter storms, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
About Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT)
Every week, more than 127 million customers visit Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam’s Club locations across America. The company and its Foundation are committed to a philosophy of giving back locally. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is proud to support the causes that are important to customers and associates right in their own neighborhoods, and last year gave more than $245 million to local United States communities. To learn more, visit www.walmartfacts.com, www.walmart.com, or www.walmartfoundation.org.
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