Jacksonville-based Southeastern Grocers raised $3,044,091.38 during its Independence Day fundraising efforts for the Wounded Warrior Project Independence Program.
Southeastern Grocers CEO Ian McLeod and WWP Chief Executive Steve Nardizzi announced the donation Friday at a news conference at the nonprofit’s Southpoint area headquarters.
“It certainly exceeded our expectations,” McLeod said. “Personally, we were delighted.”
Southeastern Grocers comprises Winn-Dixie, Bi-Lo and Harveys stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. On July 4, profits from sales were earmarked for WWP. Donations also were accepted online at both organizations’ dedicated websites. Vendors also contributed.
“We are profoundly grateful to Southeastern Grocers and each of every shopper who came out in support of those wounded protecting the freedoms we all hold so dear,” Nardizzi said in a news release.
Every penny in profit earned July 4 at Southeastern Grocers’ almost 790 stores is being donated. All of the funds will support WWP’s Independence Program, which provides personalized plans that target each injured service member’s needs or interests, designed to allow them to live as independently as possible.
Southeastern Grocers LLC is the fifth-largest conventional supermarket chain in the U.S. and the second-largest conventional supermarket in the Southeast based on store count.
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