Corporations and organizations help the American Red Cross respond to continuous disasters

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Sep 20, 2024, 06:03 ET

Disaster giving program members stand with the Red Cross to help families cope with more frequent and intense weather events

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- After a summer of excessive heat, massive flooding, raging wildfires and the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever recorded, communities and families are feeling the effects of the climate crisis — and relying on the American Red Cross for support — now more than ever. During National Preparedness Month, the American Red Cross acknowledges 153 corporate and organizational members of the Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and Disaster Responder Program that help power its preparation, relief and recovery efforts in the face of more frequent and intense disasters.

ADGP and Disaster Responder Program members — along with their employees and customers — pledge financial and in-kind donations year-round in advance of disasters to ensure the Red Cross is ready to assist those in need and can help people and communities plan for unexpected crises. The organization depends on these annual donations from generous supporters to prepare for and respond to disasters big and small.

"After a year of recurring extreme weather events that impacted communities across the country, I would like to thank our ADGP and Disaster Responder members for their commitment to help before disasters strike," said Cliff Holtz, president and CEO of the American Red Cross. "Their generous support enables us to respond to emergencies at a moment's notice — providing hope and comfort to those facing hardship."

The Red Cross responds to an average of more than 65,000 disasters big and small every year. With annual investments from ADGP and Disaster Responder Program members, the Red Cross is prepared to act before these devastating events occur — stocking warehouses, prepositioning supplies and training volunteers to deliver immediate relief. Thanks to these forward-thinking organizations, the Red Cross can meet immediate needs while standing with impacted families to build long term recovery plans.

According to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communications, a majority of Americans think extreme weather poses a risk to their communities. Evolving impacts of extreme weather — more intense storms, heavier rainfalls, higher temperatures, stronger hurricanes and historic wildfires — have led to growing needs from coast to coast.

As of mid-September, the nation has already experienced 20 billion-dollar disasters this year, including a record-breaking number of tornadoes, catastrophic flooding, devastating wildfires and extreme heat across the country. To meet the needs of families and communities impacted by these non-stop disasters, the Red Cross continues to grow its capacity to respond.

Even with increasing climate-driven disasters, the most common disaster the Red Cross responds to are home fires. With the help of ADGP and Disaster Responder Program members, the Red Cross can both respond to disasters while also helping families prepare for emergencies. The Home Fire Campaign is one such preparedness initiative, which has saved more than 2,190 lives across the country since launching in October 2014.

As the end of National Preparedness Month approaches, now is the perfect time to increase your resiliency in times of crisis. Get ready for disasters today by making a plan to stay safe, gathering important supplies and knowing how you'll stay connected with local officials, family and friends. To learn more, visit redcross.org/prepare or download the free Red Cross Emergency app.

The American Red Cross thanks these program members for their generous contributions.

ADGP $1M Members:
Amazon; American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Bank of America; Caterpillar Foundation; Chobani; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; CMA CGM Foundation; Costco Wholesale; Delta Air Lines; Elevance Health Foundation; Enterprise Mobility Foundation; FedEx; Lilly Endowment Inc.; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; McDonald's Corporation; Merck; Microsoft; Nationwide Foundation; The Pfizer Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; State Farm; Takeda; Truist Foundation; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; Wells Fargo

ADGP $500K Members:
ALDI; Altria Group; American Express; Aon; Bread Financial; Capital One; Chick-fil-A; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Danaher Foundation; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental; DHL Supply Chain; Edison International; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Philanthropy; Fox Corporation; General Motors; Google.org; HCA Healthcare; The Home Depot Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; Kaiser Permanente; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation; The Kroger Co. Foundation; Liberty Mutual Insurance; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Mastercard; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; Paul Davis Restoration; PayPal; PepsiCo Foundation; PetSmart Charities; Salesforce; Southeastern Grocers Gives Foundation & Southeastern Grocers, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie; Stryker; Target; The TJX Companies, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; USAA; U.S. Bank Foundation; Visa Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; The Wawa Foundation; Wesco; Zoetis Foundation

Disaster Responder Members:
7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe Foundation; The AES Corporation; American Tire Distributors; American Water Charitable Foundation; Ameriprise Financial; Assurant; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; Barclays; Bath & Body Works; Big 5 Sporting Goods; Build-A-Bear Foundation; Canadian National Railway Company; CarMax; CDW; Charles Schwab Foundation; Cisco; CNA Insurance; The Coca-Cola Foundation; The Deluxe Foundation; The DICK'S Foundation; Discover; Dollar General; Dollar Tree and Family Dollar; Duke Energy; Erie Insurance; Equitable; FirstEnergy Corporation; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; HP Foundation; International Paper; Invitation Homes; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; L'Oréal; The Labcorp Charitable Foundation; Lenovo Foundation; LKQ; Macy's, Inc.; Major League Baseball; Marathon Petroleum Corporation; Martin Marietta; Masco; Mattress Firm; McKesson Foundation; MetLife Foundation; Neiman Marcus Group; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Norfolk Southern; Northrop Grumman Foundation; Northwestern Mutual; Novartis US Foundation; Old Dominion Freight Line; Pacific Life Foundation; Phillips 66; Prudential; Raymond James; RBC Foundation USA; Reckitt; Reliance, Inc.; Reynolds American Inc.; RTX; Ryder System, Inc.; Santander; Security Finance's Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Southwest Airlines; Stanley Black & Decker; Tata Consultancy Services; U-Haul International; Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation; U.S. Foods; Yum! Brands; Zurich

National Headquarters
431 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20006
redcross.org

SOURCE American Red Cross