Several Milwaukee-area businesses are contributing to relief efforts, or are providing services, for areas affected by Hurricane Florence.
Kohl’s announced this week it is donating $500,000 to the American Red Cross to provide hurricane relief. The Menomonee Falls-based retailer said the donation will aid the Red Cross’s efforts to deliver vital emergency supplies and services to communities in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Kohl’s also said it would it will help affected associates through a relief fund, offering short-term financial assistance to those experiencing unexpected financial hardship and emergency compensation for those working at stores that have closed because of the hurricane.
The company’s employee assistance programs are also offering support and counseling for associates.
“Kohl’s is grateful our donation to the American Red Cross will help support our thousands of associates and customers who have been impacted by Hurricane Florence,” said Michelle Gass, Kohl’s chief executive officer.
Other area companies have also rallied to help hurricane relief efforts.
WISN-TV Channel 12 this week hosted a helpline in partnership with the American Red Cross of Wisconsin, raising $90,757 to support residents of North Carolina and South Carolina and other states affected by the storm.
“Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by Hurricane Florence. We’re all overcome with sadness to see the destruction that this has caused, yet deeply moved by the kindness displayed by our viewers,” said Jan Wade, president and general manager of WISN 12. “As the storms pass and the rebuilding begins, efforts like this helpline will empower Red Cross in their important mission. Every donation makes a difference, and people across the state of Wisconsin have really come together to help. Their generosity is nothing short of inspiring.”
MillerCoors recently donated 200,000 cans of water to be distributed at the Red Cross and community shelters in communities hit by the hurricane. The company last year launched a water program in partnership with Broomfield, Colorado-based Ball Corp., which together have committed to provide more than 2 million cans to the Red Cross to help communities affected by disasters over the next two years.
Two small businesses in the Milwaukee area are also partnering to deliver donations to hurricane victims through the end of today. Cudahy baker Jen’s Sweet Treats and Saint Francis-based moving company Hungry Man Moving are together collecting non-perishable food, pet food, hygiene items and water bottles, with plans to deliver them to North Carolina this weekend.
Items can be dropped off at Hungry Man Moving, 3770 S. Pennsylvania Ave. in St Francis; Jen’s Sweet Treats, 4745 S. Packard Ave. in Cudahy; and Magpies Gourmet Dog Treats at Mayfair Mall.
Some Milwaukee area companies, meanwhile, are providing services in Florence’s wake. Waukesha-based Generac Power Systems Inc. shipped portable generators to the Carolinas prior to Hurricane Florence’s arrival, and last week the company deployed five storm response teams — a total of ten technicians and a trailer full of parts — to the affected areas.
Generac’s service team in Waukesha coordinated their deployment throughout the hardest-hit areas to support the company’s servicing dealers.
“We pride ourselves on deploying storm response teams,” said Aaron Jagdfeld, president and CEO of Generac. “We deployed them last year for both Harvey and Irma. We help to provide emergency service for generators at homes, in retailers’ parking lots and our dealers’ shops. We created the storm response teams as a way of helping make the lives of those affected by storms and major power outages a little bit easier.”
Paul Davis Restoration and Remodeling of Southeast Wisconsin and Fox Valley also announced this week the company planned to deploy staff and equipment to the Carolinas.
The company said it would provide emergency mitigation services and structural aid to property owners affected by flooding, winds, rain and mold damage, along with emergency services and structural cleanup.
