Anheuser-Busch InBev North America Responds to Crisis in Haiti With Drinking Water, Cash Donations

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Jan 19, 2010, 03:11 ET

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The earthquake crisis in Haiti is prompting a worldwide humanitarian response, and Anheuser-Busch InBev North American companies, Anheuser-Busch and Labatt, are joining governments and relief agencies in these life-saving efforts on several fronts, including donating water packaged at one of its breweries.

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The world's largest brewer is tapping into its production capabilities by sending drinking water that is critically needed by the people of Haiti. The day after the earthquake, the company's AmBev business in Latin America immediately shipped nearly 350,000 cans of fresh drinking water from a brewery it operates in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, about 160 miles from Port-au-Prince, to be among the first to provide relief to victims of this tragedy. In addition, the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Cartersville, Ga., is working with the American Red Cross to ship another 600,000 cans of water. In total, the company will donate nearly 1 million cans of water.

Also, the Anheuser-Busch Foundation and Labatt will match donations made by North American employees and its network of U.S. wholesalers to the American and Canadian Red Cross organizations, totaling up to $300,000.

"As the world joins together in response to this crisis, our companies can play a role in the recovery efforts," said Luiz Edmond, Zone President of North America for Anheuser-Busch InBev. "We have the capability to package and distribute fresh drinking water quickly, and our employees, wholesalers and consumers are eager to provide monetary support in a time of need like this. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Haiti during this crisis."

This week's efforts are on top of the company's longstanding partnership with the Red Cross and millions of dollars in support to the agency, including last year's support for the first-of-its-kind emergency preparedness program to help schools, businesses and communities with their emergency planning and preparedness efforts.

For more than 100 years, Anheuser-Busch and its foundation have reached out to groups in need. The company's response to disaster relief has gained global respect since 1906, when Adolphus Busch made a donation to victims of the San Francisco earthquake. Over the past two years, Anheuser-Busch and its distributors in the United States provided a total of 210,042 cases – or more than 5 million cans – of packaged drinking water to victims of natural disasters. These included wildfires in California; hurricanes and storms in Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas; and flooding in New York, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin.

Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 49.2 percent share of U.S. beer sales. The company brews the world's largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch also owns a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer. Anheuser-Busch ranked No. 1 among beverage companies in FORTUNE Magazine's Most Admired Global Companies list in 2009. Anheuser-Busch is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and one of the world's largest recyclers of aluminum cans. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the leading global brewer, and continues to operate under the Anheuser-Busch name and logo. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.

SOURCE Anheuser-Busch