Corporations, Foundations and Organizations Help American Red Cross Prepare for and Respond to Disasters Big and Small

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Sep 05, 2018, 10:53 ET

WASHINGTON, Sept. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- During National Preparedness Month in September, the American Red Cross is recognizing 108 leading corporations, foundations and organizations that comprise its Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and Disaster Responder Program. Thanks to their forward-thinking contributions, the Red Cross is prepared to help meet the needs of people affected by disasters big and small, anytime and anywhere across the U.S.

ADGP and Disaster Responder members–along with their employees and customers–pledge financial and in-kind donations in advance of disasters, powering the Red Cross with strong infrastructure, trained volunteers, innovative technology and critical resources necessary to provide relief and support to those in crisis. These annual contributions allow the Red Cross to respond whenever and wherever disasters occur, help families during the recovery process and prepare people for future emergencies.

"Last year, millions of people across the country were impacted by an unrelenting wave of devastating disasters," said Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross. "We couldn't have mobilized to provide the immediate support and care needed following these crises without the generosity of ADGP and Disaster Responder members whose funding enables us to provide food, shelter and supplies to disaster survivors. We truly appreciate their meaningful commitment to our humanitarian mission as we prepare ourselves and communities for this hurricane season and respond to countless other disasters every day."

This past year reminded the nation that no one is beyond the reach of a disaster and how important it is to be prepared. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, the California wildfires and so many other crises brought unprecedented and heart-breaking devastation to communities across the country. Support from ADGP and Disaster Responder members allowed the Red Cross to organize ahead of time to respond to the disasters immediately—when help and hope were needed most. For the hurricanes and wildfires alone, the Red Cross provided nearly 1 million overnight stays with partners, served more than 19 million meals and snacks with partners, and distributed more than 8.8 million relief and cleanup items.

Currently, as Hurricane Gordon bears down on the northern Gulf Coast, support from ADGP and Disaster Responder members has allowed the Red Cross to prepare for the storm's impact by staffing Emergency Operation Centers, opening shelters in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, organizing teams for post-storm damage assessment and service delivery, as well as preparing emergency response vehicles.

While large disasters like hurricanes and wildfires typically draw national attention, each year the Red Cross responds to an average of nearly 64,000 disasters–the majority of which are home fires. Generous contributions from ADGP and Disaster Responder members not only enable the Red Cross to provide critical services to people impacted by home fires year-round, but ensure families can receive lifesaving tools and information to support prevention efforts through our Home Fire Campaign. Since 2014, the campaign and our signature Sound the Alarm smoke alarm installation events have helped make more than 593,000 households safer through the installation of more than 1.4 million free smoke alarms, and is credited with saving 464 lives across the country.

And thanks to ADGP and Disaster Responder members, Red Cross volunteers are also in their local communities every day, conducting disaster preparedness presentations and giving people the reassurance and confidence to face crises of all kinds.

The current members of the Red Cross $1M Annual Disaster Giving Program are: Adelson Family Foundation; American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Anthem Foundation; Bank of America; Brown & Brown Insurance; Caterpillar Foundation; The Clorox Company; ConocoPhillips; Costco Wholesale; Delta Air Lines; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation; FedEx; Grainger; The Home Depot Foundation; LDS Charities; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; Mazda North American Operations; Microsoft Corp.; Nationwide Foundation; New Balance Foundation and New Balance Athletics; PepsiCo Foundation; State Farm; VSP Global; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; and The Walt Disney Company.

The current members of the Red Cross $500,000 Annual Disaster Giving Program are: 21st Century Fox; Altria Group; AmazonSmile; American Express; Aon; Capital One; CBS Corporation; Cisco Foundation; Citi Foundation; Darden Restaurants, Inc. Foundation; Discover; Edison International; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Motor Company; General Motors; Humble Bundle; International Paper; John Deere Foundation; Johnson Controls; LabCorp; Medtronic Foundation; Meijer; Merck Foundation; Mondelēz International Foundation; Procter & Gamble Company; PwC; Southwest Airlines; Target; Tata Consultancy Services; TD Ameritrade; The TJX Companies, Inc.; United Airlines; UPS; The USAA Foundation; The Wawa Foundation; and Wells Fargo.

The current members of the Red Cross $250,000 Disaster Responder Program are: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe; AdvoCare International L.P.; Alliance Data; Assurant; AT&T; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; AXA Equitable Life; The Ball Foundation; Barclays; BMW of North America; Boise Paper; CarMax; Choice Hotels International; Cox Automotive; DICK'S Sporting Goods; Duke Energy; Entergy Corporation; Farmers Insurance; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; HP Foundation; HSBC Bank; IBM Corporation; Ingersoll Rand Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; Land O'Lakes, Inc.; Mastercard; Morgan Stanley; Neiman Marcus Group; Northrop Grumman Corporation; Northwestern Mutual and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation; Prudential Foundation; Raytheon Company; Rodan + Fields Prescription for Change Foundation; Ryder; SC Johnson; Southeastern Grocers Home of BI-LO Harveys Winn Dixie; Standard Textile; Stearns Bank; Toyota; U-Haul International; United Technologies Corporation; U.S. Bank; and Visa.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

SOURCE American Red Cross