Ag Companies Donate Millions for Hurricane Relief
Monsanto, Bayer and DuPont chip in financial support and update the status of facilities in the south.
Compiled by staff
Published: Sep 1, 2005
U.S. ag companies have pledged millions of dollars in financial contributions and product donations to aid victims of the Hurricane Katrina. The Monsanto Company has pledged $1 million to support the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts focused on helping people with their needs as they begin to restore and rebuild their homes and communities. Bayer has pledged $2 million. DuPont has pledged $1 million in cash.
A Monsanto donation of $750,000 to the National American Red Cross will help provide critical food and relief aid to people whose homes were lost or damaged in the storm. In addition, a donation of $250,000 will be made to United Way chapters in Jefferson Parish, Orleans Parish and St. Charles Parish, where the company has a major manufacturing facility, to support the communities where Monsanto people live and work.
"It is our hope that these funds will help provide the basic necessities to our friends and neighbors as our communities begin to recover from the devastation left behind by Hurricane Katrina," says Roy Breaud, plant manager of Monsanto's Luling, Louisiana, plant. "We recognize that it will take many weeks and months to restore the communities, so we want a portion of our gift to be focused on some of those longer-term needs."
Bayer has pledged $2 million to the U.S. Red Cross in the form of financial contributions and product donations to aid victims of the flooding. As part of this effort, the company's employees in the United States are being encouraged to make personal donations to the relief effort and Bayer will match these contributions dollar for dollar.
Bayer employs more than 15,000 people in the United States. There have so far been no reports that any of them have been affected by the hurricane, Bayer reports. There has also been no damage to the company's facilities.
DuPont today announced that it will donate $1 million in cash to agencies supporting Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery efforts in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. The company will focus its aid on particularly hard hit communities, such as those surrounding the DuPont DeLisle and Pascagoula sites, both in Mississippi.
DuPont also is prepared to provide product donations used in disaster relief, recovery and rebuilding, such as DuPont Personal Protection products containing Kevlar, Nomex and Tyvek high performance materials; Virkon S disinfectant; RelyOn disinfectant wipes; and Solae energy bars and soy beverages.
While information is not yet complete, there are no reports of injuries to employees on site or of environmental incidents at the five DuPont sites that were most heavily impacted by the storm: Burnside (La.), DeLisle (Miss.), Mobile (Ala.), Pascagoula (Miss.) and Pontchartrain (La.).
With the full support of DuPont resources, each DuPont site in the region is currently assessing the impact of the hurricane. Impacts on DuPont operations are likely to vary from site to site. A better understanding of the full impact of the storm will be available once a more thorough assessment can be completed.
Permalink: Click here
Tagged: Monsanto, monsanto company
|