Nestle Waters North America Contributes to Midwest Disaster Relief Effort

More Than 240,000 Bottles of Water Donated to Support Displaced Citizens and
Volunteer Relief Workers in Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin

GREENWICH, Conn., June 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Nestle Waters North America has
donated 244,344 half-liter and one-liter bottles of Nestle(R) Pure Life(R) and
Ice Mountain(R) Natural Spring Water during the past week to citizens and
disaster relief workers in flood-stricken areas of Indiana, Iowa and
Wisconsin. AmeriCares and the American Red Cross, along with local,
on-the-ground agencies, are distributing the donations throughout the region.
Severe rain and record floods have wreaked havoc on the Midwest in recent
weeks. The floods are said to be the worst the region has experienced in
nearly 15 years. Thousands of residents have been displaced, and hundreds of
homes and businesses have been damaged.
"The heavy rains and flooding have been devastating to the people of the
Midwest," said John Connell, director of emergency response for AmeriCares.
"At times like this, clean drinking water is essential. We're fortunate to
have a partnership with Nestle Waters, an organization with the resources and
ability to respond with bottled water immediately when disasters strike."
"Donations like this make a difference in the lives of the individuals and
families affected by disaster. The immediate needs during an emergency or
natural disaster include clean water and food. The importance of water cannot
be emphasized enough, particularly during the warmer summer months," said
Lauri Rhinehart, vice president of development operations for the American Red
Cross. "We can always count on the support of Nestle Waters to help us provide
essential aid to communities affected by disasters."
"We are saddened by the losses to our employees and thousands of their
neighbors as a result of the recent Midwest flooding. But AmeriCares and the
American Red Cross have done an outstanding job of providing disaster relief
to those in need," said Alex McIntosh, director of corporate citizenship,
Nestle Waters North America.
This donation follows Nestle Waters North America's recent donation of
more than 35,000 half-liters of Nestle Pure Life bottled water to Iowa
citizens affected by the level five tornado in late May. These bottles of
water were distributed throughout the affected area by the Northeast Iowa Food
Bank, a member of America's Second Harvest, as well as the Salvation Army and
the American Red Cross. In the past, Nestle Waters has provided millions of
bottles of water to citizens and relief workers affected by natural disasters,
including the California wildfires and Hurricane Katrina.
About Nestle Waters North America
Nestle Waters North America Inc. is the number one bottled water company
in the U.S. Its family of 15 well-known brands includes Poland Spring(R)
Brand Natural Spring Water, the leading spring water brand in America. Based
in Greenwich, Conn., Nestle Waters North America's 9,000 employees provide
bottled water products to consumers across the country, including Nestle(R)
Pure Life(R) and Ice Mountain(R) Natural Spring Water in the Midwest.
About AmeriCares
AmeriCares is a private, nonprofit international disaster relief and
humanitarian aid organization, which delivers medicines, medical supplies and
aid to people in crisis around the world. Since it was established in 1982,
AmeriCares has distributed more than $7.5 billion in humanitarian aid to 137
countries. For more information, log onto www.americares.org.
About the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and counsels victims of disasters;
provides nearly half of the nation's blood supply; teaches lifesaving skills;
and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a
charitable organization -- not a government agency -- and depends on
volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its
humanitarian mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or
join our blog at www.redcrosschat.org.
http://www.nestle-watersna.com/index
http://www.northeastiowafoodbank.org/managed/index.asp
http://www.secondharvest.org/
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf

SOURCE Nestle Waters North America

Sarah Piperato of Cone Communications, +1-617-939-8388, spiperato@coneinc.com,
for Nestle Waters North America