Walmart
and the Walmart
Foundation today announced donations totaling $500,000 to
organizations helping with relief efforts for those affected by the
floods in Texas and Oklahoma. The amount donated includes cash along
with in-kind donations such as food, water, cleaning supplies, baby and
personal care products. When flooding began earlier this week, Walmart
immediately donated and delivered 75,000 bottles of water to affected
areas in the Texas communities of Henderson and San Marcos. The company
has also donated cleaning products, diapers, work gloves and other
supplies to support flood relief efforts and supply shelters in Houston,
Wimberley and San Marcos. These donations are in addition to the $80,000
the Walmart Foundation committed to the America
Red Cross to provide relief assistance in Texas and Oklahoma when
severe storms hit those states earlier this month.
”We are committed to helping families throughout Texas and Oklahoma
impacted by the flooding this week. Because those affected include our
own store associates and customers, many associates in these communities
immediately jumped into action to help others when the flooding began,”
said Dan Bartlett, executive vice president of Corporate Affairs for
Walmart. “Having been raised in Texas, my thoughts and prayers are with
the local communities, our customers and our associates. Walmart takes
pride in using our strengths to help the thousands of communities in
which we operate, especially during times of natural disaster, as we’ve
done in the U.S. and countries all over the world. We will continue
lending support to the people of Texas and Oklahoma as we work to
rebuild.”
For Walmart, helping communities in need during times of tragedy is
personal, with associates living and working in communities affected.
The company has sent people into the field to aid in relief efforts, and
associates at Walmart store #404 in San Marcos have volunteered their
time to help clean and repair homes of fellow associates and customers
after the flood.
“At our store, we consider both our customers and associates as part of
an extended family that supports one another during times of crisis,”
said Nikki Gonzalez, assistant store manager at Walmart. “We assembled a
group of associates who wanted to volunteer, and under the direction of
the City of San Marcos, the team was given addresses of residents who
needed help. We ripped out carpets and helped clean up their homes.
There were so many people that needed help, and we were just trying to
make a difference where we could. It makes me very proud to work for a
company that supports us in going out and helping people in our
community. There is a lot more work to be done, but I know that together
we can overcome this natural disaster that has affected so many families
here.”
Walmart will continue to work closely with disaster relief organizations
such as the American Red Cross, The
Salvation Army, Feeding
America and local agencies to determine the needs of individual
communities.
“We are extremely thankful for Walmart’s generosity as we work to help
people in Texas and Oklahoma by providing shelter, food, relief
supplies, first aid and a shoulder to lean on,” said Derrick Chubbs,
division vice president, American Red Cross Southwest and Rocky
Mountains Division. “Support from donors such as Walmart will allow the
Red Cross to sustain relief efforts in these affected areas to help
people get back on their feet.”
Walmart has a long history of providing aid in times of disaster by
donating emergency supplies, such as food and water, home and personal
products, and by creating ways for associates and community members to
locate and help one another. Over the past 10 years, Walmart and the
Walmart Foundation have donated more than $43 million to assist in
disaster relief efforts.
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save
money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online,
and through their mobile devices. Each week, we serve nearly 260 million
customers who visit our 11,462 stores under 72 banners in 28 countries
and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year 2015 revenue
of $486 billion, Walmart employs more than 2 million associates
worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate
philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about
Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com on
Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and
on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart.
Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.
About Philanthropy at Walmart
By using our strengths to help others, Walmart and the Walmart
Foundation create opportunities for people to live better every day. We
have stores in 28 countries, employing more than 2.2 million associates
and doing business with thousands of suppliers who, in turn, employ
millions of people. We are helping people live better by accelerating
upward job mobility and economic development for the retail workforce;
addressing hunger and making healthier, more sustainably-grown food a
reality; and building strong communities where we operate and inspiring
our associates to give back. Whether it is helping to lead the fight
against hunger in the United States with $2 billion in cash and in-kind
donations or supporting Women’s Economic Empowerment through a series of
grants totaling $10 million to the Women in Factories training program
in Bangladesh, China, India and Central America, Walmart and the Walmart
Foundation are not only working to tackle key social issues, we are also
collaborating with others to inspire solutions for long-lasting systemic
change. To learn more about Walmart’s giving, visit www.foundation.walmart.com.
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