IGA to Tour Wounded Warrior Project HQ in Jacksonville
Independent Grocers Alliance Will Donate Over $245,000 to Wounded Warrior Project
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Oct. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, IGA will tour Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) and present a donation of more than $245,000 to the veterans service organization (VSO). This comes as part of the fifth-annual IGA Exclusive Brand donation initiative. During this national campaign— which ran in participating IGA stores from Memorial Day (May 25) through Labor Day (Sept. 7) — a number of WWP co-branded IGA Exclusive Brand products were available for purchase in participating IGA stores. To date, more than $970,000 has been donated to in the name of IGA retailers to directly fund WWP programs.
One such program is the Long-Term Support Trust (LTST), which ensures that supplemental services including life-skills training, home care, transportation, and additional resources can remain available to the seriously wounded, ill, or injured in the event their caregivers are no longer able to provide care and support. Since the LTST's inception in 2014, WWP has invested more than $65 million in the Trust, which was made possible by generous donors across America. This funding serves as the model for the decades of support WWP is preparing to provide these veterans to ensure they are able to live as rewarding and independent lives as possible. WWP is committed to the long-term support of this generation's most seriously injured veterans – those with moderate-to-severe brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, or other neurological conditions – who, upon the loss of their caregiver, are at risk for institutionalization.
"For nearly 90 years now IGA has been known as the brand that lends a helping hand in communities all across the United States, so when IGA looked to align with a cause that mattered to our IGA shoppers and would give us an opportunity to create a long-term, meaningful difference, Wounded Warrior Project was an obvious choice," said Dave Bennett, IGA senior vice president, Procurement & Exclusive Brands. "It's that kind of over-and-above support that has enabled our IGA retailers to raise more than $1 million for WWP in the course of the last five years, and that will keep this program a success as we move forward."
"The generosity that IGA has demonstrated time and time again is what allows our organization to fulfill its mission of honoring and empowering Wounded Warriors," said Gary Corless, vice president of Strategic Giving at WWP. "We are extremely thankful for IGA's independent retailers and their shoppers for their kindness and generosity. Their support helps to provide critical resources to the warriors, families and caregivers Wounded Warrior Project serves through 20 free life-saving programs and services."
About Wounded Warrior Project
The mission of Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. WWP's purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public's aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. To get involved and learn more, visit woundedwarriorproject.org.
About IGA
IGA is the world's largest voluntary supermarket network with aggregate worldwide retail sales of more than $36.5 billion per year. The Alliance includes nearly 5,000 Hometown Proud Supermarkets worldwide, supported by 29 distribution centers and more than 30 major manufacturers, vendors and suppliers encompassing everything from grocery to equipment items. IGA has operations in 46 of the United States and more than 30 countries, commonwealths and territories. For more information about IGA, visit the IGA consumer website at www.iga.com, or the business site at www.becomeiga.com.
SOURCE Wounded Warrior Project
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