The Coca-Cola Foundation has announced a $1 million grant to the American Red Cross to support communities reeling from Hurricane Ian, which has claimed more than 100 lives and left thousands homeless or without power or clean water.
The strong Category 4 storm hit southwest Florida on Sept. 28 as one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the United States, with catastrophic damage across the central part of the state. Two days later, Ian made a second U.S. landfall south of Georgetown, S.C. as a Category 1 storm with impacts to coastal Georgia before moving inland and bringing severe flooding and high winds to areas of North Carolina and southern Virginia.
The Foundation’s grant will help The American Red Cross provide shelter, water, meals, and emotional support to those along Ian’s path. Additionally, The Coca-Cola Company is donating a total of $150,000 to local nonprofit organizations including: Florida Disaster Relief Fund, Community Foundation of Sarasota, Midwest Food Bank and Salvation Army.
With boil water notices and widespread power issues in effect, and a growing number of shelters opening, bottled water is a critical need. Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, Coca-Cola Consolidated and The Coca-Cola Company are donating truckloads of DASANI and other hydrating beverages to Good360 and community partners to support immediate relief efforts.
“The Coca-Cola system is committed to supporting local communities impacted by this Hurricane Ian in the weeks and months to come,” said Jeremy Faa, President, South Zone, Coca-Cola North American Operating Unit (NAOU). “We will work closely with our partners to meet the short- and long-term needs of our neighbors, many of whom face a difficult and uncertain road to recovery.”
The Coca-Cola Company is an ongoing supporter of the American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program, which helps the humanitarian organization be ready to respond to disasters both big and small, any time and anywhere across the United States, while also helping prepare people and communities for disasters yet to come.
In 2021, The Coca-Cola Foundation provided more than $7 million in funding globally for natural disaster preparedness and relief—as well as other humanitarian aid efforts. These donations supported 15 countries and included responses to earthquakes in Haiti and Croatia; flooding in Sudan, Canada, Germany, China and Belgium; tornados, winter storms and Hurricane Ida in the United States; wildfires in Turkey; a volcano in the Caribbean; a super typhoon in the Philippines; and the refugee crisis in Afghanistan.
Source: Coca-Cola
