Walmart Announces $5 million Commitment for Hurricane Maria Relief
September 28 2017 - 03:04PM
Business Wire
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation commit up to
$5 million in cash and product to assist Puerto Rico with recovery
efforts
Walmart has committed $5 million in support of Hurricane Maria
relief efforts. This builds on the commitments previously announced
by Walmart and the Walmart Foundation totaling $35 million to
support 2017 hurricane assistance in response to Hurricane Harvey
and Hurricane Irma.
“Our associates and friends in Puerto Rico are in significant
need,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Walmart
Foundation and chief sustainability officer for Wal-Mart Stores,
Inc. “We want to do all we can to help, not only with immediate
hurricane assistance, but in the long term, knowing that there are
many challenging days of recovery and rebuilding ahead.”
Walmart operates 45 retail facilities in Puerto Rico, which
includes two distribution centers and a satellite headquarters,
supported by nearly 15,000 associates across the Island. The $5
million commitment will support organizations helping with local
relief efforts supporting those in need. Additional efforts by
Walmart in Puerto Rico include:
- Taking care of our associates and their
families, which is our first priority. We are focused on providing
our associates disaster assistance along with their regular
paychecks. We’ve been working through a process to do so safely and
efficiently this week.
- Continued relief efforts centralized
through the Walmart Emergency Operations Center
(EOC) which operates 24 hours a day tracking storm impacts and
supporting our associates needs and well-being. The EOC also
facilitates store recovery, and is supporting community relief
efforts on the Island.
- We have company leadership in Puerto
Rico and continue to be in regular contact with FEMA, the American
Red Cross, and other partners, while we respond to various needs.
We have also sent communications specialists, electricians and
other skilled support teams to the Island to help stores and club
locations recover as quickly as possible.
- We continue to work toward assessing
the status of our facilities on the Island as we are safely able to
access them. So far, we have been able to re-open around 20 stores
and 5 club locations along with nearly a dozen pharmacies on the
Island. We’re proud of the work our teams are doing to help serve
our Puerto Rico customers.
- We recognize the need for access to
food, water, fuel, medication and other critical items for our
customers and associates. We are planning to open facilities very
thoughtfully, most likely under limited hours, and metered access,
to control lines and enhance security for our customers. In
addition we are utilizing corporate jets to get emergency insulin
to the Island.
- Working to ship critical supplies and
product to the Island. Hundreds of loads of water, emergency
supplies and other needed resources, like generators, have been
delivered over the last several days. We also have critical freight
on a vessel that departed Florida earlier this week and have plans
to send more supplies before the end of this week.
- We are actively providing stores with
freight and will send product to both open stores and those that
are able to accept deliveries as soon as safely possible.
Walmart has a long history of providing aid in times of
disasters, helping communities prepare and recover by donating
emergency supplies, such as food and water, home and personal
products. In addition to this year’s hurricane response of more
than $30 million, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have donated
more than $60 million since 2005 in cash and in-kind donations in
response to disaster events.
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, over
260 million customers and members visit our more than 11,600 stores
under 59 banners in 28 countries and e-commerce websites in 11
countries. With fiscal year 2017 revenue of $485.9 billion, Walmart
employs approximately 2.3 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.
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. Walmart has stores in 28 countries, employing more than 2.3
million associates and doing business with thousands of suppliers
who, in turn, employ millions of people. Our philanthropy helps
people live better by supporting 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 Walmart operates 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
http://www.foundation.walmart.com.
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WalmartMedia Relations:Aaron Mullins,
800-331-0085news.walmart.com/reporter
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