REDONDO BEACH, Calif., Dec. 17, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At its annual holiday event celebrating community support today, Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) honored eight Southern California charities and many of its employee-volunteers who strive throughout the year to make local communities better places to live and work.
Northrop Grumman donated a total of $40,000 to charitable organizations recommended by employees. The company recognized their efforts to make the holidays brighter for families in need of assistance in areas where the company's Space Technology sector operates and where many of its employees live.
"We're committed to supporting our community, particularly in these economic times, not only because it makes for a better place for all of us to live and work, but also because it's the right thing to do," said Alexis Livanos, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman's Space Technology sector. "Helping others brings us closer, tightens the bonds of community and helps us reach higher goals. We are proud to support South Bay families and the organizations that help them."
Organizations that were presented with checks at the holiday giving event were:
* His Helping Hands Food Pantry, Lomita -- The Pantry will use the
company's contribution to provide complete holiday meals and
supplemental groceries to more than 200 needy and homeless
families they service each month.
* Friends Without Barriers, Redondo Beach -- The company's support
will allow this group to host a dinner for its neediest clients
and purchase children's clothing for those in need. Friends
Without Barriers provides outreach and educational programs to
prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS.
* Salvation Army / His House, Torrance -- His House provides food
and gifts to more than 700 families, including some 3,000
children who otherwise may not have a Christmas. They also
provide gifts to needy senior citizens.
* Rainbow Services, San Pedro -- Rainbow Services, which works to
end the cycle of family abuse, uses Northrop Grumman's support to
operate a holiday shop for the women and children it serves.
* Talk About Curing Autism, Costa Mesa -- Donated funds will help
support the adoption of approximately 75 needy families that have
children with autism. This includes purchasing
developmentally-appropriate gifts.
* South Bay Quilters Guild, Torrance -- The Guild makes and donates
holiday stockings to women's shelters in the area. The stockings
are filled with much-needed basic toiletry items. In addition, it
makes and donates quilts to shelters.
* Pediatric Therapy Network, Torrance -- PTN is a children's
education, research and therapy center whose mission is to help
developmentally disabled children. During the holidays, it
provides assistance to families by offering tickets to holiday
events and performances and providing groceries, toys and other
necessary items.
* School on Wheels, Malibu -- The mission of School on Wheels is to
enhance education opportunities for homeless children in grades
K-12. During the holidays, it provides gift cards to active
tutors in the program who select individualized, meaningful gifts
for the children they tutor.
The luncheon donations were part of an overall holiday giving program by the company's Space Technology sector designed to assist families in a variety of ways. In November, the company distributed 415 Thanksgiving dinner boxes to local families and also filled 38 boxes with canned and dry goods for local shelters, in addition to donating toys to the Southern California Indian Center and the Boys & Girls Clubs of the South Bay.
Northrop Grumman employees also have adopted 113 families through the Friends to Families program, which fills holiday wish lists. In addition to those groups receiving donations today, an employee charitable organization sets aside $5,000 for seven Northrop Grumman Space Technology communities in the South Bay and other parts of the country.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.