Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY) today announced a companywide campaign during August through Labor Day to support the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and its work to defeat more than 40 devastating diseases.
For the sixth consecutive year, Safeway will conduct a nationwide fundraising campaign for MDA to finance medical research and programs to improve the lives of people with neuromuscular diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Over the years Safeway has raised more than $32 million for MDA through customer donations at checkout and a broad range of store events, including its participation in the long-standing Aisles of Smiles program.
“This is an exciting time of year for our employees and customers. Our retail teams are geared up to raise funds for an organization that has demonstrated it ability to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people with muscle disease,” said Larree Renda, Safeway Executive Vice President and Chairwoman of The Safeway Foundation. “The partnership with MDA gives us a front-line opportunity to assist with one of the most compelling and challenging medical problems of our generation.”
During the campaign, which begins on August 1 and runs through Labor Day, Safeway will provide customers with multiple opportunities to contribute through a range of in-store fundraising activities, including MDA’s popular Aisles of Smiles program. Checkstands at all Safeway-owned stores in the U.S. will be equipped with point-of-sale materials that provide customers a convenient way to contribute to the cause – this includes all stores under the Safeway banner, including Vons, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Carrs, and Pavilions. The company will also post the familiar Aisles of Smiles shelf tags on a broad selection of participating national brands. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of these products will go directly to MDA.
“Safeway is one of our most important corporate sponsors,” said MDA National Chairman Jerry Lewis. “We cherish the relationship and deeply appreciate the generosity of the company’s customers and employees.”
At the end of the campaign, Ms. Renda will join Mr. Lewis at the nationally televised MDA Labor Day Telethon to present the funds raised and thank Safeway’s customers and employees for their generosity. Simultaneously, Safeway employees from across the country will participate in regional MDA telethon activities to bring attention to this important cause.
MDA supports more research on muscular dystrophy and related diseases than any other private-sector organization in the world. MDA scientists are in the forefront of gene therapy research and have uncovered the genetic defects responsible for several forms of muscular dystrophy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease), childhood spinal muscular atrophy, and several other conditions. The Association recently announced that exciting progress is being made in MDA-sponsored research into treatments for Duchenne (DMD) and Becker (BMD) muscular dystrophy – two of the more common forms of the disease. Thanks to these important advances, people with DMD and BMD are leading longer and healthier lives.
Safeway has a long history of funding causes for people with disabilities. Twice a year the company conducts companywide campaigns for the cause. In April Safeway raised $9 million for Easter Seals and Special Olympics. The company employs nearly 10,000 people with disabilities in stores throughout the United States and Canada through special job programs and has been recognized by the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR) and The ARC (formerly the Association for Retarded Citizens) for its dedication to employing people with disabilities.
In addition, Safeway supports a broad range of charitable and community programs and in 2007 donated more than $172 million, the equivalent of 20% of its net income, to causes such as education, cancer research and hunger relief.
ABOUT SAFEWAY www.Safeway.com
Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 100 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America based on sales. The company operates 1,740 stores in the United States and Canada and had annual sales of $42.3 billion in 2007. The company’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY.
ABOUT THE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION www.mda.org
MDA is a voluntary health organization working to defeat more than 40 diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education.
Contacts:
Teena Massingill, 925-467-3810
