Shopping at a local grocery store this Saturday will not only fill your pantry but will benefit a charity that helps soldiers who have been wounded in action.
Every penny of profit made Saturday, July 4, by Bi-Lo will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project, said Ian McLeod, Southeastern Grocers president and chief executive officer.
Bi-Lo, Harveys and Winn-Dixie stores are owned by Southeastern Grocers. Profits from all stores will be donated to the cause.
Statesboro Bi-Lo associates are celebrating the opportunity to support the WWP Independence Program, said Cody Ellison, the store's area manager.
"We are very excited," he said Thursday. "We heard about it a couple weeks ago. Our new CEO visited and got the associates very excited."
Statesboro Bi-Lo employees are wearing T-shirts to promote the event.
"We hopefully will have a lot of people come through the doors and make a lot of money for Wounded Warriors," Ellison said.
Customers also will be able to make extra donations at the cash registers, and associates are encouraged to donate as well, he said.
The WWP Independence Program helps warriors live life to the fullest, on their own terms. It pairs a specialized case manager with each injured service member and his or her family to develop a personalized plan that targets the warrior's needs or interests. In many instances, for the cost of one month in an in-patient institutionalized brain injury rehabilitation program, the WWP Independence Program can provide a year's worth of community-based support on a weekly basis to an individual warrior, according to a statement released by Southeastern Grocers.
Saturday, customers can support the WWP simply by shopping at one of the nearly 800 participating grocery stores in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. Customers also are able to make individual contributions on the stores' websites.
"Bi-Lo, Harveys and Winn-Dixie operate in states with some of the highest active-duty military populations in the United States," McLeod said. "While we recognize on Memorial Day those soldiers who paid the supreme sacrifice and give thanks to those that have served on Veterans Day, the sacrifice and needs of those who are severely injured, visibly or invisibly, is not necessarily fully understood.
"I am honored that we are running this program and am thankful to the military men and women and their families for their service and sacrifice."
Steve Nardizzi, WWP chief executive officer, said: "We are excited to continue our work with Bi-Lo, Harveys and Winn-Dixie in the spirit of lifelong commitment to serving our nation's veterans. The promise we have made to injured servicemen and women is evident in the kindness from companies like Southeastern Grocers. The generosity that will result from Wounded Warrior Project Day is vital to honoring and empowering our nation's bravest. Independence Day provides a timely framework to celebrate that mission and those who help us fulfill it while uplifting those we serve."
Southeastern Grocers has donated more than $610,000 to numerous programs of the WWP, McLeod said.
Wounded Warrior Project Day also will be celebrated on social media platforms across the Internet. Donors with social media accounts are welcome to post tributes to injured veterans using the hashtag #allforhonor, according to the release.
The mission of the WWP is to honor and empower injured soldiers. The program's purpose is to raise awareness of, and enlist the public's aid in meeting, the needs of injured service members; to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist one another; and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. The WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.
For more information or to get involved, visit woundedwarriorproject.org or email infoip@woundedwarriorproject.org.
People also can donate to the cause at www.bi-lo.com/allforhonor or at any store register across approximately 211 grocery stores through Sunday.