CINCINNATI, 2017-Nov-14 — /EPR Retail News/ — This Veterans Day, The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) announced a $3.2 million contribution to the USO. This donation is made possible through the company’s Honoring Our Heroes campaign, a commitment Kroger made to veterans, military service members and their families.
$1 million of this donation is a corporate donation from Kroger. Coca Cola and the generosity of customers and associates who contributed at check stands, purchased special gift cards to be delivered to USO centers, or donated online contributed the remaining $2.2 million.
“This Veterans Day, Kroger extends a heartfelt thank you to the United States veterans, military service members and their families,” said Jessica Adelman, Kroger’s group vice president of corporate affairs. “We are proud to support our military service members in every way that we can – including making meals matter and hiring more than 43,000 veterans since 2009.”
Since 2010, Kroger has donated more than $21 million to the USO, making Kroger’s donation the largest cumulative gift to the USO in its 76-year history.
“The USO is honored by the ongoing commitment Kroger has shown to military service members and their families,” said Lisa Anastasi, USO chief development officer and senior vice president of development. “From hiring veterans to serving meals to our troops and their families, Kroger is fueling the future of our military as a Force Behind the Forces.”
Kroger is increasing its commitment to service members by partnering with the USO on its USO Pathfinder℠ program. Pathfinder extends the USO’s mission of connection by assisting service members and their families in achieving their personal and professional goals as they transition from military service and return home to their new communities.
Throughout the month of November, Kroger is also partnering with Wrigley’s to continue support to the USO. For each pack of Wrigley’s Extra® Gum purchased at Kroger’s family of stores, one pack will be donated to the USO to be included in care packages for deployed service members. For every share of this video, Extra® Gum will donate $1 to the USO, up to a maximum of $25,000.
About the USO:
The USO strengthens America’s military service members by keeping them connected to family, home and country, throughout their service to the nation. At hundreds of locations worldwide, we are united in our commitment to connect our service members and their families through countless acts of caring, comfort, and support. The USO is a private, nonprofit organization, not a government agency. Our programs, services and entertainment tours are made possible by the American people, support of our corporate partners and the dedication of our volunteers and staff.
In addition to individual donors and corporate sponsors, the USO is supported by President’s Circle Partners: AT&T, Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation, The Boeing Company, Clark Construction Group, LLC, The Coca-Cola Company, FedEx, Harris Teeter, Jeep, Johnson & Johnson, Kroger, NFL, Southern New Hampshire University and Four-Star Partners: Altria, BBMC, BIC, ConAgra Foods, GEICO, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Prudential, Target, TKS, USAA and the Wawa Foundation. We are also supported through the United Way and Combined Federal Campaign (CFC-11381). To join us in this important mission, and to learn more about the USO, please visit uso.org.
About Kroger
At The Kroger Co., we are dedicated to our purpose: to Feed the Human Spirit™. We are 450,000 associates who serve nearly nine million customers daily in 2,793 retail food stores under a variety of local banner names in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Our Family of Companies operates an expanding ClickList offering – a personalized order online service – in addition to 2,258 pharmacies, 783 convenience stores, 307 fine jewelry stores, 222 retail health clinics, 1,472 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food production plants in the United States. Our Company has been recognized as one of America’s most generous companies for our support of more than 100 Feeding America food bank partners, breast cancer research and awareness, the military and their families, and more than 145,000 community organizations including schools. As a leader in supplier diversity, we are a proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable.
SOURCE: The Kroger Co.