CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today presented a $325,000 donation to Living Lands & Waters, an organization that promotes the health and vitality of U.S. inland waterways, at a volunteer cleanup event at Starved Rock State Park in Oglesby, Illinois.
The donation brings ADM’s total support for the organization since 2004 to more than $1.7 million. The funds will be used to support additional river cleanup events as well as an equipment expansion project, which will help Living Lands & Waters substantially its outreach and services. Their goal is to remove 1,000,000 pounds of garbage from the rivers this year, which is three times more than they’ve been able to accomplish in previous years.
“ADM recognizes that America’s inland waterways are vital arteries whose health is essential to our nation’s economy, our communities and our wildlife,” said Chad Pregracke, founder of Living Lands & Waters. “The company’s support of Living Lands and Waters demonstrates real commitment to ensuring that these waterways are healthy and navigable.”
Directed by experts from Living Lands & Waters, more than 200 volunteers from 60 different ADM locations spent the morning cleaning up debris from areas at the park that have been impacted by recent flooding.
“It’s truly impressive to see how much can be accomplished in just a few hours when organizations like Living Lands & Waters and ADM coordinate their efforts,” said Kerry Novak, site superintendent at Starved Rock State Park. “They were able to clean up trails and campground areas and also remove exotic species along the river area in one morning, which would have taken us weeks to accomplish on our own.”
“Cleaning up our nation’s waterways is critically important for numerous communities and industries, as well as ADM’s own transportation network. It’s also an overwhelming task, and we’re proud to support Living Lands & Waters not just with funding, but also with man-hours at volunteer events like the one today at Starved Rock State Park,” said Jeff Becker, vice president, operations for ADM’s Ag Services business unit.
The donation was given through ADM Cares. ADM Cares is a social investment program that directs funds to initiatives and organizations that drive meaningful social, economic and environmental progress worldwide. The program comprises three distinct focus areas: supporting the responsible development of agriculture, improving the quality of life in ADM communities and fostering employee giving and volunteer activities.
About Livings Lands & Waters
Living Lands & Waters is a 501(c)(3) environmental organization established by Chad Pregracke in 1998 and headquartered in East Moline, Illinois. Living Lands & Waters conducts a variety of initiatives including Community River Cleanups, Big River Educational Workshops, the MillionTrees Project, the Riverbottom Forest Restoration Project and Adopt-a-River Mile.
About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with more than 33,000 employees serving customers in more than 140 countries. With a global value chain that includes more than 460 crop procurement locations, 300 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 40 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, chemical and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.
