In an announcement made on the official company site, the Coca-Cola Foundation pledged to donate $1 million to the American Red Cross to support victims of Hurricane Harvey, which has caused record flooding across Texas and Louisiana. The funds will be used for food resources, shelter and future rebuilding efforts.
Now, it's your turn.
Sandy Douglas, executive vice president and president of Coca-Cola and board member of its foundation, launched a charitable donation giving platform, which will allow you to use Coca-Cola reward codes to redeem direct donations to those affected by the storm. And it's super easy.
The reward code can be found under the bottle cap or soda can in the form of long strings of numbers. Just go to Coke.com/give and enter the digits as one string of characters to donate 5 cents to the American Red Cross.
The Coca-Cola company is supporting local relief efforts on the ground, as well. The company also announced that its foundation and its collective system (Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED, Coca-Cola North America and fairlife) has donated "nearly 25,000 cases of water, milk, sports drinks and other beverages."
Coca-Cola employees, are in good hands, as well. Nearly 200 employees work at The Coca-Cola Company's Minute Maid offices located in Sugar Land, Texas, which was also greatly affected by the hurricane. Luckily, many employees were evacuated from their homes. The Coca-Cola system continues to support its associates in the disaster areas.
"Our Coca-Cola family lives and works in the areas impacted," Mark Schortman, president of Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, said in the official announcement, adding, "and they know just how important it is to help our neighbors when they need it the most."
In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, other major corporations, such as PepsiCo, Walmart and Kellogg, are providing neighborly assistance to people affected by the hurricane. According to Delish, Kellogg sent 30 million servings of its cereals, Pringles, Nutri-Grain bars, Cheez-Its, and other crackers and cookies to the Harvey victims.
During major disasters such as this, it's crucial that we unite as one to help those in need. Douglas shared her sympathies, stressing that "as the heartbreaking situation continues to unfold along the Gulf Coast, we are reminded of the importance of coming together and supporting each other."
Five cents may not seem like much, but a little goes a long way. Caps off to Harvey victims.