King Soopers Donates $1M to Colorado Healing Fund
Following a mass shooting that resulted in 10 deaths at its Boulder, Colorado, store, King Soopers is donating $1 million to the Colorado Healing Fund (CHF) to support the needs of victims, families, survivors and community members affected by the tragedy. The contribution will be provided through the company’s public charity.
CHF provides assistance and hope to victims of mass violence. The King Soopers donation will help provide mental health services and other financial relief to victims and their families, as well as affected survivors, who have been traumatized by this event.
“The entire King Soopers family continues to mourn the loss of those who were victims of this senseless act of violence,” said Steve Burnham, president of King Soopers/City Market. “We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from our fellow Coloradans, and we thank everyone for their incredible kindness.”
To accelerate critical response efforts, King Soopers and CHF are also offering customers easy ways to donate to the community. Customers can support CHF in the following ways:
• Round Up or Make a Donation at the Checkstand: Customers can now round up their purchase to the nearest dollar or commit a donation of their choice ($1, $5 and $10 in value) at checklanes.
• Direct Giving (Online): Customers can direct individual gifts in the amount of their choice to coloradohealingfund.org.
• Text Option: Customers can donate by texting BoulderStrong to 243725.
King Soopers, which is a banner The Kroger Co., is taking several additional actions to support associates during this difficult time, including:
• Providing access to mental health services and other benefits to support employees’ mental and physical well-being;
• Ensuring that associates who were directly affected by the tragedy can recover with the support of emergency paid leave;
• Offering an associate hotline to answer questions or assist with ongoing concerns; and
• Directing additional assistance to all of the victims’ families to help with funeral expenses.
“During this unprecedented time, our most urgent priority is to provide a safe environment for associates and customers, and we will continue to make decisions that best support their needs,” Burnham continued. “The Boulder King Soopers store will remain closed until the police investigation is complete. We are committed to helping the community grieve and heal from this tragic event.”
Meanwhile, two days after the mass shooting at the King Soopers supermarket, a man armed with five firearms and wearing body armor was arrested on March 24 after walking into a Publix location in Atlanta. No one was injured. That suspect's motives are currently unknown.
Cincinnati-based Kroger employs nearly half a million associates who serve 9 million-plus customers daily through a seamless digital shopping experience and 2,800 retail food stores under a variety of banner names. The company is No. 3 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Lakeland, Florida-based Publix, with 1,264 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, is No. 12 on PG's list.
