Community

At a time when community needs have never been greater, customers and associates of the Kroger family of stores across the country opened their hearts and wallets in December, to support the annual Red Kettle holiday campaign of The Salvation Army.

In 2010, the campaign raised $12.8 million Ð the most ever raised during Kroger's annual campaign. This figure represented more than 9% of the total donated to The Salvation Army nationwide during the storefront campaign.

From Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve, bell ringers man signature Red Kettles in front of Kroger family stores across the country.

Every dollar donated during the annual program - one of the most recognized and respected signs of the holiday season Ð stays in the community where the money was raised, to assist local families in need in the communities we share.

These donations underwrite the critical services The Salvation Army provides to adults and children in the local community all year. Whether feeding hungry families, providing holiday toys for needy children, helping communities during natural disasters or offering coats for the homeless, the Salvation Army is committed to serving its local communities every day. Just like the Kroger family of stores.

In addition to supporting the annual holiday campaign, Kroger's operating divisions partner with local Salvation Army units to support specific local programs. Some examples include:

• King Soopers and its associates partner with the Salvation Army in Denver to feed Thanksgiving Dinner to the 1,500 of that region's homeless.
• Fred Meyer Stores' annual toy drive ensures that thousands of needy children in Oregon and Washington will have a gift to open on Christmas.
• Associates in Arizona and Ohio manned kettles in front of their work locations to raise funds for the local campaigns, saving local Salvation Army chapters the expense of staffing the kettles.
• Jay C Stores customers support local Salvation Army efforts by purchasing Shamrocks at registers.
• As a key partner of the Salvation Army's Angel Tree project in Kentucky and Tennessee, stores in Kroger's Mid-south division help thousands of local families have a holiday meal.