World Alliance for Retail Excellence & Standards: Donations Help Those Recently Affected by Colorado Floods

DENVER, CO--(Marketwired - Sep 26, 2013) - The World Alliance for Retail Excellence & Standards has donated thousands of dollars to the relief funds of the American Red Cross to assist during the recovery of two deadly and devastating events, the recent Colorado floods and last year's Hurricane Sandy. "We are located just outside of the stricken area of Boulder and near Estes Park and Lyons, areas which have been devastated by the floods," explains Executive Director Tom Caddell. However, it's not the first time World Alliance has stepped up to help those less fortunate and often left homeless. In 2012, the non-profit organization contributed thousands of dollars to the $307 million American Red Cross effort to help those affected by what is now known as Superstorm Sandy. It claimed 117 lives in the U.S., especially impacting the greater New York City area by flooding the New York City Subway and many suburban communities. National news coverage reported that large portions of the city and surrounding areas lost electricity for several days, with thousands of people in midtown Manhattan evacuated for six days. To complicate the widespread devastation, the New York City emergency medical services faced setbacks because of the flooding, closure, and evacuation of hospitals and EMS Stations across the city. Economic losses across the state of New York were estimated to be at least $18 billion.

Monies were promptly contributed to recovery efforts from all sectors and parts of the country, including the World Alliance for Retail Excellence & Standards. Those donations fed and sheltered survivors of the storm, in addition to providing each of them two hot meals and a cold breakfast, a cot, two blankets and a comfort kit. The donation also paid for the costs of Red Cross workers to provide these services. As Jules Kelty, Senior Director of Donor Relations for the Colorado and Wyoming Region of the Red Cross, recently told the World Alliance for Retail Excellence & Standards: "Serving these people doesn't fully capture what you've done. I have spoken with those survivors and they say the one thing that makes the biggest difference is receiving a warm meal. It fulfills a basic need; however, it also reminds them that someone else is thinking of them, pulling for them to get through this disaster. You and your members did that for the survivors."

The American Red Cross continues its mission to help more people affected by Superstorm Sandy, meeting with families to provide them with assistance. With regards to the recent flooding, Red Cross volunteers staffed shelters at locations throughout Colorado, providing a safe evacuation place, as well as blankets, cots, food and comfort.

World Alliance for Retail Excellence & Standards, formerly NARMS International, is a non-profit organization based in Denver bringing together all sectors of the retail industry: retailers, manufacturers, independent food and non-food brokers, wholesalers and distributors, retail service companies and support service members. Together, they are an alliance of at-retail companies entrusted with delivering exceptional sales, marketing and service support to B2C manufacturers, retailers and their customers, across all channels.