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Business Responds to Victims of Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita, reduced from a Category 5 to a Category 3 hurricane, hit the areas of Port Arthur and Beaumont, TX, and Lake Charles, LA, at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, September 24, sparing much of Galveston, Houston and the oil refineries to vital to the United States. Unfortunately, wind surges and rains caused the waters to breach New Orleans already damaged levee system, once again flooding its beleaguered Fourth Ward. More than a million people along the coast of Texas and into Houston fled their homes in anticipation of Rita's destruction. As with Hurricane Katrina, the Center for B·A·W·B will continue to highlight the many businesses working as agents of benefit in this second catastrophic hurricane within one month. | |
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Hurricane Rita Coverage: |
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Business Continues to Respond to Victims of Hurricane Katrina: |
Cavalier Homes, Inc. today announced that it has entered into an agreement, effective today, with Georgia-based Circle B Enterprises, Inc. to build homes for delivery to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as part of that agency's disaster relief for the Gulf Coast states recently hit by Hurricane Katrina. Under the agreement, Cavalier will build approximately 2,000 single-section homes, which will generate revenue estimated in the range of $58 million to $63 million, depending on delivery locations. The Company will supply these homes from its plants in Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina, with deliveries expected to begin within two weeks and being fully completed by December 2005. |
The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency is offering grants of up to $2,500 to students and families of students affected by Hurricane Katrina. The grants are available to students attending post-secondary schools in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware. The grants apply to schools in those states because those are the states for which PHEAA guarantees student loans, PHEAA spokesman Keith New said. The money will come from PHEAA's new $2 million Hurricane Katrina Emergency Grant Assistance Initiative. |
A group of Iowa businesses is promising to provide at least 100 jobs to victims of Hurricane Katrina. They launched a website Thursday which allows refugees to search postings of jobs set aside specifically for them. About 14 businesses have pledged to offer 100 jobs, said Susan Ramsey, a spokeswoman for the Greater Des Moines Partnership. |
General Motors Donates Cars, Cash, and Credit Relief
"The GM family shares in the nation's grief as reports of fatalities, injuries and property destruction continue to mount in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. GM, the GM Foundation and GMAC are working closely with the American Red Cross to help bring relief to the victims of this devastating storm," said Rod Gillum, GM Vice President Corporate Responsibility and Diversity, and Chairman of the GM Foundation. "In light of this national emergency, we encourage GM and GMAC employees everywhere to continue their proven tradition of supporting disaster relief efforts by contributing online to the Red Cross Hurricane 2005 Relief Fund."
General Motors' GM Foundation and GMAC have made a combined immediate cash donation of $400,000 to the American Red Cross Hurricane 2005 Relief Fund in support of relief work in parts of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The GM Foundation has pledged up to an additional $250,000 in matching funds for contributions made to the Hurricane 2005 Relief Fund by GM and GMAC employees through the company's Global Aid Disaster Relief website (www.gmability.com).
In addition to financial support, the GM family will provide additional relief support and aid to storm victims by making available more than 150 vehicles for use by the American Red Cross in relief efforts throughout the affected areas, its production facility in Shreveport is collecting urgently needed bedding for the many evacuees entering the area, GMAC will work closely on a case-by-case basis with all its impacted customers in auto finance, insurance and mortgage units, OnStar has opened up its full range of services for its customers based in or traveling in Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. All OnStar customers in these states are getting immediate assistance with routing requests, hotel reservations, gas station directions, contacting relatives. |
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Bryce Zeagler, owner of Tucson's French Quarter, has family in Louisiana. He would like to go to New Orleans and help but, until that becomes possible, he'll donate 5 percent of every customer's bill from now through the end of September to hurricane relief efforts.
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Chase Bank opened 23 of its 33 Baton Rouge area branches by noon on August 30th. The bank felt it was important to open as soon as possible after a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina to help customers with all their financial needs. The remaining 10 branches will open as soon as power is restored to the neighborhoods.
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General Motors today announced that the GM Foundation and GMAC will make a combined immediate cash donation of $400,000 to the American Red Cross Hurricane 2005 Relief Fund in support of relief work in parts of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The GM Foundation has pledged up to an additional $250,000 in matching funds for contributions made to the Hurricane 2005 Relief Fund by GM and GMAC employees through the company's Global Aid Disaster Relief website.
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SBA Administrator Hector V. Barreto announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration is ready to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina. SBA officials will be in the affected cities and communities very soon to begin offering our assistance. It will have loan officers in every federal/state disaster recovery center that is opened. SBA is also prepared to provide help in other states in the eastern half of the country where this powerful storm may also lead to disaster area declarations.
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Winn-Dixie is implementing its "Neighbors Helping Neighbors" program in all its stores as a way to assist the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund to benefit storm victims. The program, which will began August 30, is an easy, convenient way for customers to help victims impacted by Hurricane Katrina. When a Winn-Dixie customer is checking out at the register, he or she may donate directly to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund by simply telling the cashier how much they want to add to their total bill.
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Local Home Depot employees transfer to stores in hurricane affected areas Home Depot, a major provider of hurricane supplies, is offering help to hurricane victims by sending crews west. People who work at Home Depots that fell into Hurricane Katrina's path now have to clean up their own homes and damage, and Home Depot employees right here on the First Coast are responding by heading to those affected areas to work at those stores in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
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New York State based Con Edison today sent 10 crews to Alabama to help restore power to an area that was left in the dark by Hurricane Katrina. The crews, including 31 Con Ed employees, are driving their company trucks and are expected in Birmingham, Ala., on September 2nd and "will be sent where needed," said Chris Olert, a spokesman for Con Ed. The Southern Co., which runs Alabama Power, requested Con Ed's help, he said.
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Local Business Response
"We have been making calls to locate ex-employees from our Harvey, LA, facility to find out if they are safe and Fairmount will be making a donation through the Red Cross to aid the massive recovery efforts needed in the aftermath of the hurricane,"
- said Chuck Fowler, CEO of Fairmount Minerals, a Chardon,Ohio-based company that began a three day Appreciative Inquiry summit on August 29, 2005, with the goal of creating a company fully grounded in principles of sustainability and corporate social responsibility at the same time Hurricane Katrina was mercilessly pounding Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
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