C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc. is bringing urgently needed resources and expertise to Haiti after last week’s earthquake. The company’s humanitarian commitment includes donations of funds, food and medical supplies.
“C&S and our employees feel tremendous compassion toward the people of Haiti,“ said Rick Cohen, Chairman and CEO of C&S. “It is a tragic and horrific situation and C&S is reaching out to help as quickly as we can, with food, water and funds.” He added, “We’re using our plane to get medical teams into and out of the country today.”
Medical Relief and Supplies
C&S is planning to transport on its corporate jet, a team of eight disaster response professionals into Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, January 19 in conjunction with CARE (Corporate Aircraft Responding in Emergencies)
A donation by C&S of medical supplies (medication and items for wound care) is also being prepared for donation for response and trauma teams in Haiti. Items being donated include analgesics, bandages, gauze, medical tape and hydrocortisone cream.
Food and Water
Nearly 115 tons of food and water are ready for donation, in concert with the United Nations’ efforts. Items that will be airlifted or sent by sea to Haiti include bottled potable water and other high-demand items such as canned fruit and vegetables, SPAM®, juice and cereal.
Funds
Within days of the earthquake, C&S made financial contributions to two well-respected nonprofit organizations in support of immediate disaster relief efforts in Haiti: Partners in Health and Oxfam America.
To inspire employees to make personal financial commitments toward urgent needs in Haiti, and to leverage their gifts, C&S will provide a dollar-for-dollar match on donations made through payroll deduction. The selected nonprofit organizations each focus on different, but critically important, areas:
• Partners In Health: health care provider for the poor
• Oxfam America: reconstruction and water/sanitation infrastructure
• Heifer International:
For the next few weeks, the company’s retail business units, Grand Union Family Markets and Southern Family Markets expect to conduct an at-the-register fund drive to collect donations from customers.
About C&S
C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc. is a privately owned company with annual sales of $19 billion. The company is the 12th largest privately held company in the nation, as ranked by Forbes magazine. Founded in 1918, C&S provides distribution services to grocery chains and independent stores, delivering to approximately 4,600 locations from its distribution centers in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Vermont.
C&S community involvement programs support initiatives to stop hunger and to promote the health and enrichment of communities that are homes to the company's employees and facilities. To learn more: http://community.cswg.com.
