SoCalGas and The Salvation Army Partner to "Rescue Christmas" in Riverside County

More than 1,000 families received food and toys this holiday season

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Dec 22, 2020, 13:38 ET

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and The Salvation Army partnered to host the Rescue Christmas 2020 event, a two-day holiday food and toy giveaway drive-thru event to benefit Riverside County families economically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The event, which took place on Dec. 21 and 22, brought holiday joy to more than 1,000 families. For photos of the event please click HERE.

"While there is always a need in the community, this year has undoubtedly worsened the quality of life and well-being for our residents," said Assemblymember Jose Medina, District 61. "I'd like to commend SoCalGas and The Salvation Army for hosting the Rescue Christmas 2020 event where they will provide food and toys for our families impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. My sincerest gratitude for spreading some extra cheer to our constituents during this holiday season."

"Now more than ever we recognize the importance of working with community partners to further our commitment to improve the communities in which we serve," said Lea Petersen, public affairs manager at SoCalGas. "We are proud to partner with The Salvation Army to bring holiday cheer to vulnerable members of our communities through our Rescue Christmas 2020 event and we hope to inspire others to offer their support to those in need this holiday season and beyond."

"Because of the difficulties of this year, The Salvation Army has seen a 300% increase in families seeking assistance. Christmas would normally be a joyful time but this year many families are struggling to provide a happy Christmas for their children," said David M. Cain, corps officer at The Salvation Army - Riverside & Moreno Valley. "The Salvation Army is grateful for the generous support of SoCalGas who is committed to partnering with our efforts to #RescueChristmas for struggling families this year. Thank you SoCalGas for your commitment to our community."

"This year's holidays will be harder than previous years for the underserved members of our communities," said Adam Eventov, public affairs manager at SoCalGas. "We thank our community partners for their efforts in providing food and toys to families in need. We encourage everyone in the community to give help to those in need this holiday season."

In addition to distributing food and toys to local families, SoCalGas also provided information on ways to save money on their monthly utility bills including the company's California Alternate Rate for Energy (CARE) program. The CARE program can help families save up to 20% on their monthly gas and phone bill. For more information on SoCalGas' CARE program click HERE.

SoCalGas is committed to continuing to support the communities it serves during this time of need and beyond. Since March, SoCalGas has donated more than $3.2 million to nonprofit organizations for COVID-19 recovery efforts, which include providing educational resources to students, supporting the region's workforce, feeding the hungry, providing bill assistance to customers, and more.

For more information on SoCalGas's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit www.socalgas.com/coronavirus.

About SoCalGas

Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable gas service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California, where more than 90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to Californians— about 45 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants.

SoCalGas' vision is to be the cleanest gas utility in North America, delivering affordable and increasingly renewable energy to its customers. In support of that vision, SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. By developing renewable gas from our state's abundant organic waste streams, we can help to meet our climate goals sooner, while diversifying our carbon-free energy sources, improving energy resilience and reliability, while also creating additional renewable fuel and jobs for our communities. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2014 through 2018, the company invested nearly $6.5 billion to upgrade and modernize its pipeline system to enhance safety and reliability. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook.

SOURCE Southern California Gas Co.