º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ’s continued investment in Team Rubicon, both domestically and internationally, is a shining example of their commitment to our mission, no matter where it takes us.
Disaster Preparedness & Response
At º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ, we’re committed to our communities before and after disaster strikes.
Ready for anything
In times of crisis or humanitarian need, we make sure our partners have what they need to help communities. We’re on the scene quickly providing supplies, volunteers and distribution networks through relief organizations. Our global supply chain can move quickly to support our stores and guests. And all year round, we provide relief partner organizations with local donations and annual funding, and encourage our neighbors across the country to support them too.
A ready team
The more we help our team members prepare in advance of severe weather and other disasters, the easier it is for them to help their communities quickly recover. We provide team members tips on how to keep themselves and their families safe, conduct preparedness drills throughout the year and provide hotlines to call in case of emergency.
Keeping watch
Our Corporate Command Center (C3) in Minneapolis helps us keep an eye on potential issues where we do business. Operating around the clock, the C3 uses cutting-edge technology to monitor severe weather and other events around the world that could affect guests, team members or our supply chain, and connects our teams so we can respond quickly to almost any situation.
Our local support
We're committed to the communities we serve, so when disasters occur, we partner with nonprofit organizations to help those in need and support our team members and guests. Some of our recent efforts include:
2024
As natural disasters become more frequent and severe, º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ is supporting communities across the globe before these events strike. We proactively donated $1.5 million to key domestic disaster relief partners and $1 million to global organizations to help them respond instantly with food, medicine and essential supplies to communities. These donations will help:
Domestic Partner Organizations:
- American Red Cross to stand up evacuation shelters, provide essentials and financial assistance.
- Team Rubicon to clear fallen trees and debris from communities as well as clean up and rebuild impacted homes.
- SBP Disaster Assistance Program to support homeowners navigating FEMA applications and appeals for financial assistance.
- Footprint Project to provide solar generators to power homes and community hubs, including medical machines.
- Feeding America and food bank affiliates to supply food to those in need.
Global Partner Organizations:
- UNICEF to distribute safe water and hygiene supplies, emergency healthcare and safe places for children.
- World Food Program USA to supply food to those in need.
- International Medical Corps to provide essential healthcare medicine and supplies to affected communities.
Hurricane Milton — October 2024
Following the devastating impact of Hurricane Milton across Florida, º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ quickly donated $1.5 million to support response, recovery and rebuilding efforts in impacted areas. The donation will be distributed to local and national disaster relief organizations, including Convoy of Hope, American Red Cross and SBP. This is in addition to the $1.5 million that º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ proactively donated earlier this year to domestic relief partners.
º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ will also provide essential resources like fuel and water to team members in heavily impacted areas.
Hurricane Helene — September 2024
Following the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene, º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ donated $3 million to aid in response and recovery efforts. The donation will be distributed to local and national disaster relief organizations, including Convoy of Hope, SBP and local food banks. In addition, we worked with our impacted stores and distribution centers to provide donations of products to the local communities immediately following the storm. º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ has also provided essential resources to team members in heavily impacted areas.
2023
Maui wildfires — August 2023
As wildfires devastated the island of Maui in one of the worst disasters Hawaii has ever experienced, º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ took quick action to support our team and community. In response, º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ announced a $1 million donation to aid in response and recovery efforts. The donation will be distributed to local and national disaster relief organizations, including , Hawaii Community Foundation and local food banks. º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ’s store in Kahului, Hawaii remains open to provide essentials to the guest and community. We have also sent masks to the community and are routing much-needed supplies to the island.
Severe U.S. Storms — Spring 2023
After a series of severe storms hit multiple regions across the U.S. this spring, º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ is donating $500,000 in support of response and recovery efforts to American Red Cross, Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Team Rubicon, Footprint Project and local food banks who are providing emergency supplies, food, water and essentials. In addition, with our store teams in the impacted areas, we are providing º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ GiftCards and in-kind support to local nonprofit organizations.
Turkey and Syria earthquake — February 2023
Heartbreaking images from Turkey and Syria show the devastation of a massive earthquake on a region already impacted by a refugee crisis. While º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ doesn’t have direct operations in either country, we’re anxious to help the humanitarian efforts underway. We committed $500,000 of direct support to the region for immediate response and recovery efforts with partners including CARE, Save the Children, UNICEF, American Red Cross and International Medical Corps. We also announced a $1 million commitment to address ongoing global humanitarian aid throughout 2023 with partners like World Food Programme and UNICEF.
2022
Hurricane Ian — September 2022
In response to Hurricane Ian, º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ committed $5 million to local and national disaster response partners, including the American Red Cross, Team Rubicon and a variety of local nonprofits. º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ stores across the region also supported local first responders and nonprofit organizations in purchasing much-needed supplies. In addition, º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ provided financial assistance to team members through its Team Member Giving Fund. This fund is supported by team member donations, which º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ will match dollar-for-dollar up to $3 million in response to Hurricane Ian. In the days after the hurricane, º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ also established temporary resource centers at two stores in the Fort Myers, Florida, area to assist local team members and their families with immediate needs.
Pakistan flooding — September 2022
When Pakistan was impacted by severe monsoon rains and flooding starting in June 2022, our first concern was for our team. º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ maintains an owned brand sourcing office in Karachi, Pakistan, and we’re grateful that all of our local team members were safe. In response to the disaster, º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ committed $250,000 to aid in immediate disaster response and long-term recovery. The donation included commitments to UNICEF, CARE and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.
Global humanitarian aid — March 2022
º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ partners with several nonprofit charities that provide humanitarian aid and disaster relief around the world. In March of 2022, we committed $2 million toward this work, which included donations to UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the International Humanitarian Aid Response Fund of the American Red Cross.
Marshall Fire — January 2022
On Dec. 30, 2021, the largest wildfire in Colorado’s history destroyed nearly 1,000 homes and businesses, and damaged a º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ store in Superior, Colorado. º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ committed $100,000 to the Community Foundation of Boulder County's Wildfire Fund to support the community. We also made our Team Member Giving Fund available to team members who experienced financial hardships as a result of the fire, and we offered every team member temporary placement in nearby stores while the Superior store is repaired.
2021
South and Midwest Tornados — December 2021
º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ donated $1 million to relief organizations, including the American Red Cross, Team Rubicon, Feeding America, Convoy of Hope and various local disaster relief organizations. Our donation provided immediate aid to impacted families, and helped support longer term rebuilding efforts. Stores in the region also used º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ GiftCards to help local first responders and nonprofit organizations purchase needed supplies.
Hurricane Ida — September 2021
º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ donated $2.5 million — our largest storm-related donation to date — to local and national response partners, including American Red Cross, Team Rubicon and Feeding America, and to our Team Member Giving Fund, which directly supports team members who have been affected by disasters. Our donation is helping provide food, water, essentials, cleanup kits and COVID-19 vaccines to impacted communities, and supporting debris removal and rebuilding efforts stretching from Louisiana to New York. Our store teams also used º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ GiftCards to support local first responders and nonprofit organizations in purchasing much-needed supplies.
2020
Coronavirus relief — March 2020 (ongoing)
º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ and the º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ Foundation committed $10 million to expand relief and assistance to our team members, as well as local, national and global organizations responding to the pandemic.
º£½ÇÉçÇøÆƽâ°æ has also invested more than $1 billion in the health and safety of our team members and communities since the start of COVID-19 pandemic, including a $5 million commitment to vaccine equity.
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Find our disaster preparedness b-roll video and photos in the press section.
B-roll gallery