Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot and others are donating millions to help relief and recovery efforts.
U.S. retailers and corporations including Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, Amazon and Apple have announced they are donating millions to help Hurricane Helene victims who are still lacking basic necessities and facing a long road to recovery.
Lowes announced on Sept. 30 it is donating $2 million to support relief efforts in multiple states impacted by the hurricane, helping nonprofits and first responders with critical needs such as shelter, food and water and also long-term rebuilding efforts. “This
storm has created a life-altering path of destruction from Florida to the Mid-Atlantic—especially here in our home state of North Carolina,” said Marvin Ellison, Lowe’s chairman and CEO, in a press release.Lowes is also hosting relief events to distribute cleanup supplies to the affected areas, and helping to get products such as water, chainsaws and generators to those in need.
Lowes’ rival, Home Depot, also announced on Sept. 30 that the Home Depot Foundation (HDF) is committing up to $2 million to support immediate disaster relief in communities impacted by the hurricane. HDF’s nonprofit partners are also mobilizing teams to assess damage and deliver relief supplies, and also beginning to help with cleanup and repairs.
Their partners include Convoy of Hope, Operation Blessing, World Central Kitchen, Inspiritus, Team Rubicon, and ToolBank Disaster Services, which all play a role in the immediate aftermath of a disaster and its recovery.
Walmart recently pledged an initial $6 million to hurricane relief efforts including donations of food, water and essential items and to grants to groups providing relief. “Our customers and members are some of the most generous people we know,” the retailer announced in a press release. “As part of this commitment, Walmart will help magnify their impact by matching their donations to the American Red Cross 1:1, up to $2.5 million, when they donate to support hurricane relief at the registers in stores and clubs and on Walmart.com from Sept. 30 – Oct. 13.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook also announced on X on Sept. 30 that the tech company would be donating, though he did not specify the amount. “We’re thinking of all those facing the catastrophic aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Apple will be making a donation to help with relief efforts on the ground,” Cook wrote.
Apple did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request on the specifics of their donation.
The e-commerce giant Amazon pledged to begin its efforts to help hurricane victims by mobilizing resources to help impacted regions in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.
Amazon announced on Sept. 27, immediately after the storm hit, that its disaster relief and response team was working with local partners and organizations to deliver critical supplies to those in need.
“We are leveraging our logistics network and our AWS [Amazon Web Services] technology to support relief efforts by communities affected by Hurricane Helene,” Tiffany Thomas, PR manager for Amazon, told The Epoch Times.
“We’re working with relief partners, including Operation BBQ, the American Red Cross, World Kitchen, and Good360 to distribute, free of charge, items that were donated,” Thomas said.
In some cases, the company is also helping deliver packages to impacted areas, Thomas said. “We are finding a lot of need.”
Within 12 hours of the storm, Amazon sent its AWS response truck to Florida to help with connectivity and power, and also used its drones to assess the extent of the hurricane damage, Thomas said.
In Taylor County, Fla., for instance, the company helped assess the damage so officials could determine what temporary housing was needed for those who lost their homes.
Amazon has also activated a customer online donation program, where people on their site can give, and 100 percent of the proceeds will go to charity.
