The record-setting weather system brought snow, ice, wind and frigid temperatures to the deep South this week, leading to widespread power outages, boil water advisories and more than 35 reported deaths.
The Coca-Cola Foundation, the company’s charitable giving arm, awarded a $500,000 grant to help the American Red Cross provide shelter, food and health services via trained personnel on the ground in hardest-hit areas along the storm’s path. The company’s North America Operating Unit (NAOU) contributed an additional $100,000 to support Red Cross relief efforts in Texas.
“We are concerned about the communities across the country that have been impacted by severe winter weather,” said Bea Perez, chairperson and president, The Coca-Cola Foundation. “We are proud to use our resources to support critical relief efforts by our longtime partner, the American Red Cross.”
The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partner, Arca Continental Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages (AC-CCSWB), are donating truckloads of bottled water and other beverages to organizations serving people in need. The company’s NAOU has donated more than 7,500 cases of DASANI to the City of Waco, Texas; 1,200 cases of DASANI to Feeding America locations across Texas; a combined 2,000 cases of Honest Tea, fairlife milk and Minute Maid juice to a homeless shelter in Austin, Texas; and 2,300 cases of POWERADE to a Salvation Army location in Arlington, Texas (all totals as of Feb. 19, 2021).
AC-CCSWB has donated 50,000 cases of DASANI to hospitals, warming centers and city/county governments across Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico (as of Feb. 19, 2021). All of the company’s 8,000 employees have been personally impacted by the storm.
“Throughout our region our associates are pulling together, supporting each other and helping our neighbors,” said Jean Claude Tissot, president, AC-CCSWB. “We anticipate our donation numbers will increase as we thaw, resume production and identify additional areas of need.”
Dallas-based AC-CCSWB, one of the largest Coca-Cola bottlers in the United States, serves Texas and parts of New Mexico, Oklahoma and Arkansas through seven production plants and 37 sales and distribution facilities.
