Retailers Travel to Joplin Missouri to Help with Relief Efforts
2011 has been a particularly difficult year for severe weather, with tornados, devastating storms and flooding affecting many across the country. Hit particularly hard this May by a deadly tornado was the Midwest City of Joplin, Missouri. Found along the famous Route 66, Joplin is in the southwestern corner of the state and home to about 45,000 citizens who are also customers and employees of many of the retailers among the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) membership.
In the weeks after the tornado, we heard first-hand from our members who operate in the Joplin area about the enormity of this disaster and its devastating effect on their employees and the thousands of customers they serve. We heard stories of heroic actions taken by retail associates during the storm as well as stories of great generosity from retailers in the immediate aftermath. Our thoughts quickly turned to how we too could help.
I am proud to announce that this week RILA and its members will join forces with Operation Blessing to host a large-scale clean-up in Joplin Missouri. Over 250 volunteers from America’s leading retailers will visit Joplin, July 13-15, to help with the clean-up and rebuilding efforts already underway.
Members of the RILA Workplace Safety Committee and Disaster Recovery and Preparedness Committee, and local field-level associates from among RILA’s retail members including Dollar General, Lowe’s, The Home Depot, Kmart, Sears, Target, Walgreens and Walmart, will make up this industry-wide volunteer initiative.
Retailers are a part of and care about the communities they serve, and this effort is a reflection of that.
Often on the front lines when natural disaster strikes, retailers work in a number of different capacities to prepare for crises, taking steps to ensure the safety of their customers and employees and providing support to surrounding communities and leadership to their own stores and operations.
Through RILA’s Workplace Safety Committee and Disaster Recovery and Preparedness Committee, RILA members focus on providing a forum where retail members can exchange information around incident preparedness, response and business continuity to help protect customers, employees, facilities and assets and minimize business interruption.
We at RILA want to express our unending support as companies and communities move forward in the aftermath of this devastating national disaster. RILA and our members will continue to be there to lend our assistance as relief efforts move ahead.
On a related note, joining the group this week will be my colleague and Joplin native Kylee Coffman. This will be Kylee’s first trip home since the tornado. Kylee has agreed to provide her reactions and regular updates on the group’s activities throughout the week. Please follow her on Twitter at @RILATweets.
Retail Industry Leaders Association
Filed under Additional Information | Tags: Efforts, Help, Joplin, Missouri, Relief, retailers, Travel | Comment (0)Retailers Rebuilding Joplin: July 13-15
In the aftermath of the deadly tornado that ripped through Joplin, Missouri last month, there is a community eager to rebuild their homes, their businesses, their lives. And, the retail industry is eager to lend a helping hand.
Local officials have said that debris removal remains a top priority. And so, RILA has joined forces with Operation Blessing to organize a large-scale clean-up effort by the retail industry July 13-15. RILA, members of our Workplace Safety Committee and Disaster Recovery and Preparedness Committee, and local field-level associates from among RILA’s retail members will be in Joplin to help lead this industry-wide rebuilding effort.
Your Part
Join us in Joplin July 13-15! Encourage your colleagues to come, especially those residing within driving distance of Joplin. Come alone. Bring your teams. Stay one, two or all three days. No one will be turned away!
Meals
Through Operation Blessing, volunteers will be provided breakfast, lunch, and dinner all 3 days.
Other Expenses
Each company is responsible for their employees’ travel and lodging expenses. RILA will assist in securing hotel rooms for out-of-town volunteers.
How Do I Participate?
Please contact Liz Benson at (703) 600-2030 or liz.benson[at]rila.org for more information or to register. You must register by July 8.
The retail industry has a long-standing history of stepping-up to provide critical support to communities impacted by natural disaster. Let’s show the people of Joplin that the retail industry stands united in its’ effort to help rebuild their homes, their businesses and their lives
Retail Industry Leaders Association
Filed under Additional Information | Tags: 1315, Joplin, July, Rebuilding, retailers | Comment (0)How Retailers & Shoppers are Going Green [video]
We wondered…how easy is it to be a green consumer in the modern world? So we went to the streets and asked shoppers in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington, VA how they defined “green shopping” and what retailers were doing or could be doing better.
Want to learn more? Register today for the Retail Sustainability Conference happening Oct 12-14, 2011 in Orlando, Florida.
Retail Industry Leaders Association
Filed under Additional Information | Tags: Going, Green, retailers, Shoppers, Video | Comment (0)retailers rally to support tornado relief efforts
When a natural disaster strikes the retail industry often finds itself on the front lines of the affected areas. It is an industry that is ready and willing to step up and do their part as retailers work tirelessly on many fronts to address the before and often devastating after effects to their own stores and operations while also ensuring the safety of their customers and employees and providing support to surrounding communities.
In the last few weeks several RILA member companies and their surrounding communities have been greatly affected by the recent wave of tornados, severe storms, and flooding that has swept through the south.
Some retailers were hit particularly hard, losing entire stores and suffering significant damage and power losses. Employees experienced losses of homes and cars, while all shared in the grief of losses in the community, including some store employees and customers.
In Stanford, North Carolina on April 16th, Lowes saw the destruction of one of their stores by a tornado as it ripped off the roof of the building and flipped cars in the parking lot. Lowes said they will tear down what is left of the building and rebuild the store and offer all 160 employees jobs at four other Lowes stores in the area and provide transportation for those employees that lost their cars in the storm.
Recognizing the important role they play as one of the first places individuals turn to for supplies, retailers have been active in providing supplies and support to customers and persons involved in the recovery efforts. Trained retail teams charged with ensuring that their company is prepared to respond to a crisis are on the ground working closely with FEMA and other government agencies to assess the damage and provide goods for affected communities.
Retailers are also providing monetary support through their charities and with the help of organizations such as the Red Cross, rallying to offer donations and supplies in support of emergency relief efforts.
Target has donated 0,000 in cash to the American Red Cross to support as well as ,000 in product relief kits that contain hygiene and food items that will be distributed to the hardest-hit areas.
The Home Depot announced that it has created a one million dollar weather impact fund to aid recovery and rebuilding efforts. Additionally, they are also donating 0,000 to the American Red Cross for immediate relief needs.
Walmart has pledged one million dollars toward tornado relief. Additionally, they are donating critical supplies such as food, water, and first-aid kids to disaster relief in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
We want to express our unending support as companies and communities now begin to move forward in the aftermath of this devastating national disaster. RILA and our members will continue to be there to lend our assistance as relief efforts move ahead.
Retail Industry Leaders Association
Filed under Employment | Tags: Efforts, Rally, Relief, retailers, Support, Tornado | Comment (0)