Earlier this year, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) and their subsidieary Keurig® partnered with the Vermont & the New Hampshire Valley American Red Cross to provide both the single cup brewers and coffee for use by disaster services volunteers who head out into the field to assist those displaced by disaster and to support the first responders at the scene. Pictured at left, one of the donated Keurig® machines was put to use at a feeding station in response to the severe spring flooding experienced in our area.This week, in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene, GMCR's tremendous spirit of generosity resulted in a pledge of $250,000 to the American Red Cross. The GMCR gift includes $200,000 for the Vermont & the New Hampshire Valley American Red Cross, $75,000 of which will be dedicated to ongoing relief efforts in response to Irene and $125,000 of which will be used to create a model that will allow the Red Cross to build sheltering capacity at a community level across our region. The balance of $50,000 will be split between the American Red Cross of Central and Western Massachusetts and the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts and is being provided to assist with Irene-related relief.
Tropical Storm Irene left a wide path of destruction and the scale of the response is both massive, yet at the same time very local as community leaders and individuals pitch in to help their neighbors. The $125,000 that GMCR has pledged for preparedness is being provided so that the Vermont & the New Hampshire Valley American Red Cross can spearhead an effort to enhance the local, community capacity to shelter in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.
“The GMCR donation shows great compassion for those impacted by Irene,” said Larry Crist, Regional Executive for the Vermont & the New Hampshire Valley American Red Cross. “Their gift also recognizes that we can learn from this disaster and create some good from otherwise devastating circumstances.”
“The tremendous community spirit that is so much a part of Vermont and New England has been hard at work with the hands-on recovery efforts following record flooding and devastation across the region,” said Lawrence J. Blanford, President and CEO of GMCR. “Our contribution is a reflection of our belief that businesses have a responsibility to their communities; it reflects the desire to help neighbors in need that’s been so apparent in the faces and actions of individuals and community organizations working tirelessly to help each other.”
