JACKSONVILLE, Fla., 2015-7-20 — /EPR Retail News/ — Through a combination of customer and vendor donations and all profits earned at BI-LO, Harveys and Winn-Dixie grocery stores on Saturday, July 4th, Southeastern Grocers announced today that it will donate $3,044,091.38 to support the Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) Independence Program (IP), which helps warriors live life fully, on their own terms.
Ian McLeod, CEO and president of Southeastern Grocers, said, “I am deeply moved by the outpouring of support this program received from our associates, customers and even from individuals living outside of the communities we serve. This contribution to help support the Independence Program would not be possible without the generosity of our associates who gave their time to work in our stores on Independence Day and our customers and vendor partners who shopped with us and made extra contributions to the fund.”
Steve Nardizzi, WWP chief executive officer, said, “This alliance with Southeastern Grocers is crucial for Wounded Warrior Project to continue its lifelong mission to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. The overwhelming success of the Independence Day promotion surpassed every expectation we had, and we are profoundly grateful to Southeastern Grocers and each and every shopper who came out in support of those wounded protecting the freedoms we all hold so dear. The generosity Southeastern Grocers demonstrated exemplifies what can be achieved when like-minded charities and corporations join forces.”
The donation funds were raised through contributions made in BI-LO, Harveys, and Winn-Dixie stores during checkout, as well as on each organization’s dedicated website. Additionally, on Saturday, July 4th, every penny in profit earned at Southeastern Grocers’ nearly 790 stores was donated. One hundred percent of the funds raised will support WWP’s Independence Program, which provides personalized plans that target each warrior’s needs or interests, allowing them to live as independently as possible. These individualized plans are developed at no cost to the Warrior.
About Wounded Warrior Project
The mission of Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. WWP’s purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. To get involved and learn more, visit woundedwarriorproject.org.
About the Independence Program
The Independence Program pairs a specialized case manager with each injured service member and his or her family to develop a personalized plan that targets the injured service member’s needs or interests. In many instances, for the cost of one month in an in-patient institutionalized brain injury rehabilitation program, the WWP Independence Program can provide a year’s worth of community-based support on a weekly basis to an individual wounded veteran.
About Southeastern Grocers
Southeastern Grocers, LLC, parent company and home of BI-LO, Harveys and Winn-Dixie grocery stores, is the fifth-largest conventional supermarket chain in the U.S. and the second-largest conventional supermarket in the southeast based on store count. The company employs nearly 72,000 associates who serve customers in approximately 790 grocery stores, 143 liquor stores and 527 in-store pharmacies throughout the eight southeastern states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. BI-LO, Harveys and Winn-Dixie are well-known and well-respected regional brands with deep heritages, strong neighborhood ties, proud histories of giving back, talented and loyal associates, and strong commitments to providing the best possible quality and value to customers. For more information, please visit www.bi-lo.com, www.harveyssupermarkets.com and www.winndixie.com.
For SEG interviews or images, contact:
Julianne Roberts Joanne Fried
904-370-6029
media@segrocers.com
For WWP interviews or images, contact:
Joanne Fried
904-646-6860
jfried@woundedwarriorproject.org