Corporations and Organizations Keep American Red Cross Disaster Ready

With Disasters Increasing in Frequency and Intensity, Giving Program Members Ensure Red Cross is Prepared to Help People Before and After Disaster Strikes

News provided by

American Red Cross

Sep 21, 2021, 07:42 ET

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- National Preparedness Month is recognized each September to promote family and community disaster planning. Helping the American Red Cross stay ready for disasters this month — and throughout the year — are more than 110 corporate and organizational members of the Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and Disaster Responder Program.

September 7, 2021. American Red Cross volunteer, Charisse Brown, hands out hot meals and words of comfort to residents of Kenner, Louisiana, after over a week of power outages in the community following Hurricane Ida. Contributions from Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and Disaster Responder Program members ensure the Red Cross is prepared to provide help and hope to people affected by disasters like storms and countless other crises. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross.

To be ready for disasters big and small and help make the nation better prepared for emergencies, the Red Cross depends on annual donations from generous supporters. ADGP and Disaster Responder members — along with their employees and customers — pledge financial and in-kind donations year-round in advance of disasters to ensure the organization is resourced to quickly help disaster survivors and prepare people and communities for crises yet to come.

The Red Cross responds to more than 60,000 disasters across the country every year, providing comfort and hope during what can be the worst days of people's lives. Large disasters like hurricanes, floods and wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity, resulting in more people displaced, vulnerable and in need of support. In 2020, on top of the coronavirus pandemic, the Red Cross averaged three major disaster responses a month in the U.S. — triple the number from just six years ago. And so far in 2021, the Red Cross has seen a nearly 33% increase in the number of large-scale disasters reported than during the same time period in 2020.

Since August alone, the Red Cross has responded to a string of crises across the country — from Hurricane Ida which carved a path of destruction from the Gulf Coast through the Northeast, to massive wildfires across the West that continue to scorch acre after acre, to devastating flooding in Tennessee and other parts of the East. Contributions in place from ADGP and Disaster Responder members ensured the Red Cross had trained volunteers, innovative technology and critical resources necessary to respond immediately with help for tens of thousands of people, whether it be a safe place to sleep, a hot meal, relief supplies, emotional support or resources to aid in recovery.

In what is becoming a chronic disaster environment, donations from ADGP and Disaster Responder members that fuel Red Cross readiness and strengthen capacity to respond are more important than ever.

"This past year, millions of people across the country were impacted by an unrelenting wave of devastating disasters — compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross. "As the pandemic continues and as we enter the height of hurricane and wildfire seasons, we are incredibly grateful for these forward-thinking donors that support our mission-critical services to help alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies."

While it's large disasters that typically draw national attention, the vast majority of disasters that the Red Cross responds to are home fires. Donations from ADGP and Disaster Responder members also ensure disaster workers can help families meet basic needs after home fires, providing emergency lodging, financial assistance and emotional support.

The Red Cross is also at work every day across the country helping people prepare for disasters like home fires and other emergencies. Being prepared empowers individuals and communities to be more resilient and bounce back after a disaster. ADGP and Disaster Responder members also fuel these critical preparedness efforts, which include our Home Fire Campaign and signature Sound the Alarm activities that have saved at least 937 lives across the country since launching in October 2014.

Just as the Red Cross prepares for disasters, it's also important for people to prepare. Emergencies are more common than people may think, and disasters can happen anywhere, anytime. National Preparedness Month is the perfect time for people to prepare in advance by taking three simple actions: 1) Get a kit. 2) Make a plan. 3) Be informed. Individuals can download the free Red Cross Emergency app, or text GETEMERGENCY to 90999, to get lifesaving preparedness information and weather alerts in the palm of their hand.

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

The current members of the Red Cross $1M Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) are: Amazon; American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Anthem Foundation; Bank of America; Caterpillar Foundation; Costco Wholesale; Delta Air Lines; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation; FedEx; The Home Depot Foundation; Latter-day Saint Charities; Lilly Endowment Inc.; Microsoft Corp.; Nationwide Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; State Farm; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; Truist Foundation; VSP Global; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; and Wells Fargo.

The current members of the Red Cross $500,000 Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) are: Altria Group; Aon; Capital One; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Delta Dental Community Care Foundation; Edison International; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Motor Company Fund; Fox Corporation; General Motors; HCA Healthcare; International Paper; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; The Kroger Co. Foundation; LHC Group; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; Mastercard; Merck Foundation; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; PayPal; PepsiCo Foundation; PwC Charitable Foundation, Inc.; Salesforce; Southeastern Grocers Gives Foundation & Southeastern Grocers, home of Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie; Stanley Black & Decker; Target; The TJX Companies, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; The USAA Foundation, Inc.; Visa Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; and The Wawa Foundation.

The current members of the Red Cross $250,000 Disaster Responder Program are: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe; Alliance Data; American Express; Ameriprise Financial, Inc.; Assurant; AT&T; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; The Ball Foundation; Barclays; Big 5 Sporting Goods; CarMax; Choice Hotels International; Cisco Foundation; CNA Insurance; The Coca-Cola Company; CSX; Darden Foundation; The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation; Discover; Dollar General; Duke Energy; Equitable; FirstEnergy Foundation; Grainger; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; HP Foundation; Humble Bundle; Kaiser Permanente; Kimberly-Clark Foundation; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation; Lenovo Foundation; Liberty Mutual Insurance; Marathon Petroleum Foundation, Inc.; McKesson; Neiman Marcus Group; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Northrop Grumman; Northwestern Mutual and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation; Old Dominion Freight Line; Procter & Gamble; Prudential Financial; Raytheon Technologies; Rodan + Fields Prescription for Change Foundation; Ross Stores Foundation; Ryder System, Inc.; San Manuel Band of Mission Indians; Security Finance's Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow, Inc.; Southwest Airlines; U-Haul International; and U.S. Bank Foundation.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

SOURCE American Red Cross