Rebuilding Together and Safeway Inc. Partner to Renovate Homes and Facilities for People with Disabilities

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Apr 06, 2010, 06:36 ET

WASHINGTON, April 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rebuilding Together, the nation's leading nonprofit working to preserve affordable homeownership, announced today that it will launch a new partnership with Safeway Inc. and The Safeway Foundation by renovating 10 homes and nonprofit facilities to help people with disabilities live safely and independently.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090421/REBUILDINGLOGO)

The Rebuilding Together partnership is a perfect fit for Safeway and The Safeway Foundation, the company's philanthropic arm, which focus one of their major pillars of giving on helping people with disabilities. Each April and August Safeway conducts companywide fundraisers and awareness-raising campaigns to support organizations that assist persons with physical and developmental disabilities.

"We are proud to be working with our new partners, Safeway and The Safeway Foundation, on such an important issue," said Gary Officer, President and CEO of Rebuilding Together. "Rebuilding Together has consistently focused much of our work on disabled homeowners who are unable to move around their home safely and independently. We are thrilled to be working with a foundation whose core work is addressing the great need of disabled persons in our nation. We hope that our work will raise additional awareness around this cause and foster a great relationship with The Safeway Foundation."

For their first joint program, Rebuilding Together will work with Safeway and its Foundation on 10 projects during the month of April. Rebuilding Together is an expert in home modifications for people with disabilities. Modifications include: wheelchair ramps, widened doorways for wheelchair access, grab bars, new handrails, etc. Ten Rebuilding Together affiliates across the country were provided funding by The Safeway Foundation to make these essential repairs in their communities; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Chicago, IL; Montgomery County, MD; Oakland, CA; Phoenix, AZ; Portland, OR; Sacramento, CA; San Diego, CA; and Seattle, WA.

Safeway has a long history of providing outreach to people with disabilities. Along with raising more than $131 million in fundraisers to benefit Easter Seals, Special Olympics and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the company employs roughly 10,000 people with disabilities and has called on other employers to provide job opportunities for this special class of professionals.

Rebuilding Together's commitment to disabled homeowners positions them as an ideal partner for this impactful month of rehabilitation. To learn more about The Safeway Foundation, visit a Safeway store, and to learn more about Rebuilding Together and its work, visit www.rebuildingtogether.org.

About Rebuilding Together www.rebuildingtogether.org

Rebuilding Together is the nation's leading nonprofit organization working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize neighborhoods by providing extensive rehabilitation and modification services to those in need at no cost to those served. With the help of everyday citizen volunteers, skilled trades people, the support of local business and major corporate partners, Rebuilding Together affiliates in America's largest cities and smallest towns make life considerably better for thousands of low-income homeowners and the communities in which they live by completing 10,000 projects per year. Rebuilding Together has programs dedicated to energy efficiency, veteran's housing, aging in place and gulf coast reconstruction. Follow Rebuilding Together on Twitter @rebldgtogthr or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/RebuildingTogether.

About Safeway www.Safeway.com

Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 50 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, based on sales. The company operates 1,725 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $40.8 billion in 2009. The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY. Safeway supports a broad range of charitable and community programs and in 2009 donated more than $250 million to important causes, such as cancer research, education and hunger relief.

SOURCE Rebuilding Together