JACKSON, Miss., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Diageo, the world's leading spirits, beer and wine company, had pre-positioned two industrial-sized generators on the edge of Hurricane Gustav's strike zone in anticipation of the coming storm and now the generators, along with bottled water, are on their way to Gustav's strike zone. The generators and water are part of Diageo's Spirit of the Americas Humanitarian Aid program.
Ivan Menezes, Diageo North America's President and CEO said, "Based upon the anticipated trajectory of Hurricane Gustav, Diageo had pre-positioned two huge generators capable of operating a small medical facility or other vital facility in Jackson, Mississippi. They are now on their way to the affected areas."
The two generators, one at 250 kilowatts (kw) and the other at 200kw are able to power anything ranging from water treatment plants and pumping stations to firehouses and other emergency facilities. The much-needed bottled water is warehoused and distributed by Georgia Crown Distributing. Don Leebern, President of Georgia Crown Distributing and his team have been instrumental in getting the bottled water to key locations.
This relief effort is part of Diageo's Spirit of the Americas Humanitarian Aid program. Established in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, the Spirit of the Americas program provides immediate relief and disaster aid around the world.
About Diageo's Spirit of the Americas Humanitarian Aid Program
In December 2001, Diageo brought the first corporate humanitarian airlift to war-torn Afghanistan by delivering more than 100,000 pounds of food and emergency supplies to 800 orphans in Kabul.
In June of 2003, the company chartered a DC-8 cargo plane and delivered more than 150,000 pounds of food, medicine and school supplies to Baghdad, becoming the first American company to embark upon a humanitarian mission into Iraq. In November of that year, Diageo provided more than 12,000 turkeys to the Connecticut Food Bank so that 72,000 disadvantaged families could celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Also in 2003, Diageo provided financial aid to the victims of the California wildfires.
In 2004 and 2005, horrific storms ripped across the Caribbean and south eastern United States, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without clean water, shelter or food. The Spirit of the Americas program was quick to respond, undertaking massive relief missions to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Mississippi, New Orleans, Texas, Florida, Alabama, Grenada and Jamaica. The relief restored power and water to nearly 400,000 people and airlifted more than 158,000 pounds of aid to four different countries in the aftermath of the devastating hurricanes.
Diageo has been delivering important medicines, food supplements and supplies to more than 25,000 victims of the conflict in Sudan since December 2007. At that time, Diageo's Spirit of the Americas Airlift descended into Abeche, Chad with hundreds of pounds of emergency food and medial supplies on route to Gaga Refugee Camp and Guereda Hospital, which serves the local community and Kounoungo Refugee Camp.
Diageo not only funds these missions, but, just as they have since 9/11, company executives and employees also accompany the relief supplies to the crisis zone and help distribute the aid, making sure we are there every step of the way. This is what makes Diageo's humanitarian aid projects unique. Whether it's in Afghanistan, Iraq, Grenada, Haiti, Indonesia or Diageo's home state of Connecticut, the Spirit of the Americas is there.
Diageo's Spirit of America Humanitarian Aid Missions is facilitated by the Bridge Foundation, a nonprofit humanitarian aid and development organization that provides humanitarian relief worldwide.
About Diageo
Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines, and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines.
Diageo is a global company, trading in more than 200 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at http://www.diageo.com/.
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