ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Coca-Cola Company, its local bottling partners and The Coca-Cola Foundation are providing disaster relief assistance to communities in the Bahamas that have been impacted by Hurricane Dorian. The philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company, The Coca-Cola Foundation, today pledged $400,000 to The Salvation Army to provide immediate resources for emergency food and shelter for people in need on the islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco.
“We are concerned about the communities impacted by Hurricane Dorian,” said Helen Smith Price, president, The Coca-Cola Foundation. “We are using our resources to provide immediate relief and recovery assistance to those impacted by the storm. As a longtime partner of The Salvation Army, we are proud to support their critical relief efforts.”
In addition to monetary support from The Coca-Cola Foundation, the company and its local bottling partners, Caribbean Bottling Company and Coca-Cola Puerto Rico Bottlers, have donated bottles of water, volunteer hours, power generators and other essential items to community centers, hospitals and other local community organizations in the Bahamas to support emergency response efforts in impacted areas. Coca-Cola Puerto Rico Bottlers mobilized the Puerto Rican community to donate additional items and hired a plane to deliver them to the Bahamas today.
The Coca-Cola Company is also activating its Employee Disaster Relief Fund. This fund provides disaster relief and rebuilding funds to Coca-Cola system employees impacted by Hurricane Dorian. More than 200 Coca-Cola system employees live and work locally in the Bahamas.
"We deeply understand the impact of these devastating storms because our people live, work and serve their neighbors in these communities every day,” said Roberto Mercade, president of The Coca-Cola Company’s Latin Center Business Unit, which includes the Bahamas. “Our entire Coca-Cola family is mobilized and doing all we can to support each other and help our communities recover and rebuild throughout the Bahamas.”
The Coca-Cola Company is also supporting relief efforts in areas where Dorian has impacted the United States. Efforts to date have included the donation of approximately 150,000 bottles of DASANI water to Hurricane Dorian relief efforts in Southeastern states and an ongoing partnership with the American Red Cross as a member of its Disaster Responder Program, which supports relief efforts for natural disasters on an ongoing basis.
Coca-Cola consumers in the U.S. also can support the American Red Cross by donating points from product codes under the caps of Coca-Cola beverages through the Coca-Cola Give program. People can visit Coke.com/give and enter codes found under the caps of Coca-Cola beverages – and inside multi-packs – and convert them into donations to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief.
About The Coca-Cola Foundation
The Coca-Cola Foundation is the global philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company. Since its inception in 1984, the Foundation has awarded more than $1 billion in grants to support sustainable community initiatives around the world. For more information about The Coca-Cola Foundation, please visit www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/the-coca-cola-foundation.
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a total beverage company, offering over 500 brands in more than 200 countries and territories. In addition to the company’s Coca-Cola brand, our portfolio includes AdeS, Ayataka, Costa, Dasani, Del Valle, Fanta, Georgia, Gold Peak, Honest, innocent, Minute Maid, Powerade, Simply, smartwater, Sprite, vitaminwater and ZICO. We’re constantly transforming our portfolio, from reducing sugar in our drinks to bringing innovative new products to market. We’re also working to reduce our environmental impact by replenishing water and promoting recycling. With our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people, helping bring economic opportunity to local communities worldwide. Learn more at Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
