Safeway's Eastern Division 2011 Charitable Contributions Recap

March 7, 2012 - PRLog -- SAFEWAY’S EASTERN DIVISION PROVIDES $11.3 MILLION
TO MID-ATLANTIC CHARITIES DURING 2011
Division Adds Volunteerism to Philanthropy;
Provides Approx. 94,000 Hours Last Year

Lanham, Md. – Safeway’s Eastern Division contributed $11.3 million in cash and in-kind donations to non-profit agencies throughout the mid-Atlantic region during the 2011 calendar year.  The total giving includes nearly $10 million by Safeway stores in the Washington and Baltimore metropolitan areas with the remaining $2.9million being provided by Genuardi's Markets, owned by Safeway, in the Philadelphia region.  Last year, Safeway was ranked as the fourth leading corporate philanthropist for 2010 contributions as compiled by the Washington Business Journal in its annual ranking of corporate giving.

As in previous years, Safeway continued to focus its giving on efforts supporting hunger relief, education and healthcare-related causes with the division’s largest 2011 contribution of nearly $3.1 million coming courtesy of its Club Card for Education program powered by eScrip, which provides monetary donations to public and private schools and educational facilities through the mid-Atlantic region.  An additional $2.8 million was donated to numerous food banking and hunger relief agencies and programs and was the next largest categorical area of support during 2011.

For the first time, the company provided volunteerism as part of its overall charitable giving effort with employees encouraged to seek out opportunities to serve their communities.  Eastern Division employees logged 94,000 of volunteer service with the nationwide workforce surpassing one million hours of community service.

In 2011, the Safeway Foundation provided grants totaling $237,150 to numerous organizations including Bread for the City, the Children’s Cancer Foundation, the Children’s National Medical Center, the Kennedy Krieger Institute and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Additionally, the Safeway Foundation hosted a Pro-Am golf tournament to benefit Easter Seals, which generated nearly $450,000 to help children and adults with disabilities in the region.

Safeway continued its annual in-store fundraising campaigns to fight prostate and breast cancer with combined contributions totaling nearly $1.8 million raised largely through customer checkstand donations at its approximately 170 mid-Atlantic stores.  Three other yearly in-store giving efforts -- Round Up Hunger (supporting local food banks), persons with disabilities (supporting Easter Seals and Special Olympics) and Muscular Dystrophy Association -- generated $165,987, $807,618 and $697,006 in cash contributions, again, in large part, from the generosity of Safeway and Genuardi’s customers.  A similar program to the Wounded Warriors garnered another $135,000.

The division continued its tradition of holiday support by hosting its 12th annual Safeway Feast of Sharing at the Washington Convention Center which provides a holiday meal and job fair for approximately 4,000 people in need the day before Thanksgiving.  In addition, the company contributed $81,500 to the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington through its annual Barbecue Battle in the Nation’s Capital.

The retailer continued many long-standing partnerships during 2011 that provided assistance to residents of its service area.  These relationships included its scholarship program with the Greater Washington Urban League for $25,000 which provides college financial aid to selected graduating high school seniors.  The company co-sponsored several food and funds drives, including Food 4 Families, Scouting For Food and Help Us End Hunger, a Safeway in-store effort that allows customers to purchase pre-packaged bags of some of the most needed non-perishable goods, all of which resulted in thousands of bags of donated food.

The division also supports major, non-profit group events through sponsorships. Among the activities Safeway sponsored last year were the Komen National Race for The Cure, Komen Maryland Race for The Cure, and March of Dimes’ March for Babies.

In addition to the high-profile events, Safeway responds favorably to the hundreds of requests it receives from churches, PTAs and other community- and neighborhood-oriented groups.

Safeway (SWY:NYSE), a Fortune 100 company, is one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America based on sales.  The company operates 1,678 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annualized sales of $43.6 billion in 2011.

Safeway’s Eastern Division employs approximately 18,000 people and currently operates 153 stores, including 26 Genuardi's Markets in Southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with 66 Safeway stores in Maryland, 43 in Virginia, 14 in the District of Columbia and four in Delaware.

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National retail grocery chain with stores throughout located throughout North America (approximately 20 states and Canada).