GSK has closely monitored community needs following Hurricane Florence. We have been in touch with our long-time nonprofit partners – Save the Children, Direct Relief International and Americares – since before the storm hit and we are pleased to announce grants to the following organizations to support their response across affected areas in our home state of North Carolina:
• Direct Relief International – Direct Relief has a team on the ground and has been in communication – and coordinating with – its safety-net provider partners since it was first projected that the storm would affect the region. Our funding will help to help support additional preparedness, immediate response efforts, and healthcare resiliency.
• Americares – Americares is working to meet immediate needs in the communities affected by Hurricane Florence, and our support will help with delivering emergency medicines and relief supplies, including supplies for displaced families.
• Save the Children – Since 2013, GSK has embarked on an ambitious long-term global partnership with Save the Children, with the goal to save one million children’s lives. In the US, this global partnership focuses on supporting children suffering from the impact of natural disasters, including employee fundraising for Save the Children’s US Emergency Response Fund and previous support for the Resilient Children/Resilient Communities Initiative with the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, for their development of a national model for child-focused community preparedness planning.
Our additional support for the Hurricane Florence response will help Save the Children to provide disaster relief services for affected children and families with an emphasis on child protection, distribution of child focused supplies, restoration of education services, and other sectors as identified as priorities or gaps in services.
GSK employees in RTP are also donating baby supplies for the Diaper Bank of North Carolina, a 2017 GSK IMPACT Award winner, that is supporting young children across the state who are impacted by the disaster. Several GSK employees are planning Orange Day volunteering events with Diaper Bank in the coming weeks.
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