Safeway Raises $10.8M for People with Disabilities

5/17/2013

Safeway Inc. and The Safeway Foundation have donated more than $10.8 million in April for Easter Seals, Special Olympics and a range of other charities that support people with disabilities.

This year's campaign brings the total donation from the annual Support for People with Disabilities campaign, along with other fundraising activities, to $150 million.

"We are extremely grateful for each and every contribution that will help improve and transform the lives of countless people and ensure their disability doesn't define their lives or limit their personal potential," said Larree Renda, Safeway EVP and chair of The Safeway Foundation.

Each of the company's Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Dominick's, Tom Thumb, Randalls and Carrs stores collected donations at checkstands throughout April. In addition, the company and The Safeway Foundation once again teamed up with Rebuilding Together, a non-profit that provides critical repairs and accessibility upgrades to low-income homes and community centers, to renovate nine homes and non-profit centers serving seniors and/or people with disabilities.

According to Safeway, funds donated by its customers have:

Trained Easter Seals staff across the country to help expand visibility of early intervention programs, which are critical for special-needs children, especially those with autism or other disabilities
Supported 23 Special Olympics programs in 22 states
Helped Easter Seals provide more than 37,000 hours of after-school care and other services for children with developmental disabilities in the San Francisco Bay Area through Easter Seals' Kaleidoscope program
Provided free training and competition opportunities to more than 13,000 Special Olympics athletes in Arizona
Helped Special Olympics Colorado expand to provide sports training to an additional 806 athletes
Financed the renovation of 20 homes and 12 non-profit centers nationwide through Rebuilding Together, benefiting nearly 5,500 individuals across the country. More than 1,800 Safeway employees donated more than 15,000 hours volunteering on Rebuilding Together projects.

Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway operates 1,641 stores in the United States and western Canada.