Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief for U.S. Employees and Retirees
Levi Strauss & Co. operates a distribution center in Canton, MS that employs about 300 people. Though only minor damage was sustained in the Jackson/Canton communities where many of those employees live, Red Tab Foundation began receiving inquiries from employees who were affected and needed our help almost as soon as the lines of communication were restored.
RTF provided small cash grants to replenish spoiled food and supplement food supplies for approximately 40 percent of the company's Canton, MS employees, many of whom took in families who lost their homes. A total of 126 grants were made to employees, for a total of $17,225 in aid.
RTF also engaged in an impromptu employee education effort, circulating information on the spectrum of emergency services available through national and local relief organizations such as FEMA, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MSEMA), the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
Immediately after the hurricane disaster, RTF sent outreach letters to retirees in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to let them know RTF was standing by as a potential resource for their needs. Retiree requests centered on food replacement or the cost of supplemental food to nourish flood victims. One of the phone applications was from a Morrilton, Arkansas retiree who had taken in two displaced families. She and her husband are living on social security and her LS&CO. pension. She asked for help, and RTF responded with a grant to cover both food expenses and her overdue utility bills. In total, 7 grants were made to retirees for a total of $1,480 in aid.
RTF continues to seek out opportunities to assist employee and retiree disaster victims and remains a resource to those who continue to play a role in families' recoveries.