Employees Work with Local Relief Teams to Coordinate Delivery of Bottled Water and Electrical Generators to Storm Victims
GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In the past six months, Diageo's Spirit of the Americas Humanitarian Aid project has provided special relief to flooding victims in Iowa, and Haiti, and hurricane victims along the Gulf Coast. Bottled water, special relief kits, and high-powered generators were part of the various relief efforts Diageo made that helped sustain the victims of these natural disasters.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, Diageo donated and delivered truck loads of Diageo bottled water and one high-powered generator to some of the hardest hit areas after Hurricane Ike made landfall. The water and generator were part of Diageo's Spirit of the Americas Humanitarian Aid program. Diageo representatives delivered nearly 75,000 bottles of water to various cities in and around Galveston County including Shoreacres, League City Nederland, Groves, Hampshire and Port Neches, whose residents received much needed potable water.
"I was very grateful to Diageo for responding to my call for help by providing the most basic necessity -- clean drinking water," said U.S. Senator Mike Jackson (R-District 11). "Donations from individuals and companies like Diageo kept us going during the difficult aftermath of Ike."
"Going on day four of the disaster, citizens in Shoreacres still had no water, and Diageo was literally our only source of water when they arrived," said Jayo Washington, Mayor of Shoreacres, TX. "People were covered from head to toe in mud from cleaning out their homes and with no power or fuel, the closest point of distribution was too far away for the community. We are truly grateful for Diageo's water because it was a blessing that kept our people hydrated until we got food distributed."
"League City was one of the hardest hit areas by Hurricane Ike," said Toni Randall, Mayor of League City, TX. "Diageo's water was lifesaving to the citizens in our community who had no access to any potable water in the first four days after the hurricane devastated our city. League City and its citizens can not thank Diageo enough for literally saving the day for our community."
Guy Smith, Executive Vice President of Diageo North America said, "Diageo was in constant touch with state and city officials to determine which areas had the most critical need for potable water and a generator. Any time we can be there first hand to provide the necessary relief for disaster victims is a great day for the people of Diageo."
In addition, a 250 kilowatt (kw) generator provided power for critical functions in the City of Port Arthur until power was restored on September 24. The generator supported the city's maintenance facility and helped relief crews there maintain and repair critical equipment that enhanced water drainage. As result, emergency aid teams were able to work quickly and continuously to alleviate the pressures caused by extreme flooding and make conditions suitable for displaced residents to return more quickly and begin the rebuilding process.
Earlier this year, Diageo was also on the ground supporting relief efforts for the victims of flooding in Iowa, Hurricane Gustav in Louisiana, and Hurricane Hanna in Haiti. To help aid relief efforts in Iowa and Louisiana, Diageo donated truckloads of water to victims who were without any potable water. In addition, Diageo donated two high-powered generators to Hurricane Gustav victims, one of which went to a nursing home in Baton Rouge that provided life-sustaining power for the home's residents, who were heavily dependent upon medical devices and ventilators for their survival. In Haiti, Diageo donated 700 relief buckets containing milk, bottled water, clothing, hand and laundry soap, basic toiletries and bowls and plates. For all 700 of the families that received the buckets, it was the first time they received aid since the storm first hit.
About Diageo's Spirit of the Americas Humanitarian Aid Program
In December 2001, Diageo brought the first corporate humanitarian airlift to war-torn Afghanistan by delivering more than 100,000 pounds of food and emergency supplies to 800 orphans in Kabul.
In June of 2003, the company chartered a DC-8 cargo plane and delivered more than 150,000 pounds of food, medicine and school supplies to Baghdad, becoming the first American company to embark upon a humanitarian mission into Iraq. In November of that year, Diageo provided more than 12,000 turkeys to the Connecticut Food Bank so that 72,000 disadvantaged families could celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Also in 2003, Diageo provided financial aid to the victims of the California wildfires.
In 2004 and 2005, horrific storms ripped across the Caribbean and south eastern United States, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without clean water, shelter or food. The Spirit of the Americas program was quick to respond, undertaking massive relief missions to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Mississippi, New Orleans, Texas, Florida, Alabama, Grenada and Jamaica. The relief restored power and water to nearly 400,000 people and airlifted more than 158,000 pounds of aid to four different countries in the aftermath of the devastating hurricanes.
Diageo has been delivering important medicines, food supplements and supplies to more than 25,000 victims of the conflict in Sudan since December 2007. At that time, Diageo's Spirit of the Americas Airlift descended into Abeche, Chad with hundreds of pounds of emergency food and medial supplies on route to Gaga Refugee Camp and Guereda Hospital, which serves the local community and Kounoungo Refugee Camp.
Diageo not only funds these missions, but, just as they have since 9/11, company executives and employees also accompany the relief supplies to the crisis zone and help distribute the aid, making sure we are there every step of the way. This is what makes Diageo's humanitarian aid projects unique. Whether it's in Afghanistan, Iraq, Grenada, Haiti, Indonesia or Diageo's home state of Connecticut, the Spirit of the Americas is there.
Diageo's Spirit of America Humanitarian Aid Missions is facilitated by the Bridge Foundation, a nonprofit humanitarian aid and development organization that provides humanitarian relief worldwide.
About Diageo
Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines, and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines.
Diageo is a global company, trading in more than 200 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at http://www.diageo.com/.
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