Community Involvement

Caroline Blakely, President and CEO of Rebuilding Together, made the following statement regarding the damage caused by Hurricane Irma.

More than 300 National Grid employees,100 vehicles--including our mobile command unit—will be departing on Tuesday, September 12th to support Duke Energy and Tampa Electric in their response efforts to Hurricane Irma.

We are all deeply saddened and concerned to see the destruction caused by Hurricane Irma across the Caribbean and now in Florida. The entire PayPal community is thinking of the people in affected areas and we are deeply committed to assisting those in need.

Scotiabank is donating $500,000 USD to charitable organizations assisting with the rescue and relief efforts in the many Caribbean countries impacted by Hurricane Irma. Our thoughts continue to be with the people of the affected regions as they demonstrate strength and resilience following the devastation.

In anticipation of Hurricane Irma, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have made a commitment to provide support for relief efforts through cash and product donations of at least $1 million to organizations helping in response. “We are deeply concerned about the devastating impact Irma is expected to have on the families and communities we serve,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Walmart Foundation and chief sustainability officer for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. “We are committed to recovery efforts for our customers, associates and neighbors and will be there to help them through this difficult time.”

General Mills’ $250,000 donation to Pillsbury United Communities toward the development of North Market aims to help provide access to healthy food in north Minneapolis.

The nonprofit grocery is expected to open this November. It will be the first full-service grocery store in North Minneapolis to open in more than 10 years.

CITGO Petroleum Corporation announced today that it has made a donation of $500,000 to the Coastal Bend Community Foundation to assist local authorities in providing services to those afflicted by the Hurricane’s devastating path. The donation is in addition to potable water and fuel the company has already donated to local residents and first responders.

When Southern California Edison engineer Martin Barriga heard the company was seeking volunteers to design and build an entry for this year’s Canstruction charity event in Orange County, he was one of the first with his hand up.

When Kaitlyn Martinez heard that one of her friends failed a homework assignment because she didn’t have the simple school supplies of a pencil and paper at home, she wanted to do something to help. Two years later, 14-year-old Kaitlyn is CEO of nonprofit Backpacks 4 Kids AZ, providing students across Arizona with backpacks full of the school supplies they need to succeed.