QUINCY, Mass., May 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Retail Business Services (RBS), the services company of leading grocery retail group Ahold Delhaize USA, held its annual Spring Day of Service on Friday, May 12. This organization-wide volunteer day is part of the company’s RBS Cares program, which recognizes the importance of serving local communities where associates live and work. Hundreds of associates across seven states put on their working gloves and volunteered their time in support of local sustainability efforts. In addition to the time spent in the community, RBS also donated a total of $42,500 to 11 nonprofits to further support their efforts to protect and beautify local public spaces.

RBS associates spent their Friday taking part in several Earth-friendly volunteer opportunities across their East Coast and Chicago markets:

• Scarborough, Maine: Alongside South Portland Land Trust, RBS volunteers helped maintain and improve the South Branch and Clark's Pond Trails. Some also spent time at Pleasant Hill Preserve - improving handicap accessibility on the boardwalks, removing invasive plants, and performing habitat restoration, and at the Fuller Farm Preserve, volunteers moved lumber, built bog bridges, and removed invasive plants. Both activities were guided by Scarborough Land Trust.
• Salisbury, North Carolina: Volunteers picked up trash in Finch Park in Lexington. Some helped on land-and-water via a litter sweep led by the Catawba Riverkeeper to clean up Kevin Loftin Riverfront Park in Belmont. For those who wanted to keep their shoes dry, a cleanup also took place at Kelsey Scott Park, a 21-acre park in Salisbury adopted by RBS.
• Quincy, Massachusetts: In partnership with the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, associates picked up litter and removed invasive shrubs from Franklin Park, Boston’s largest open space.
• Mauldin, South Carolina: RBS associates partnered with Upstate Forever to pick up litter in Westside Park, Greenville County's largest park that is now forever protected under a conservation easement.
• Landover, Maryland: In partnership with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, RBS volunteers picked up litter along a tributary of Cabin Branch Creek.
• Chicago, Illinois: RBS associates took part in a beach cleanup at North Avenue Beach, one of Chicago's most popular beaches.
• Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Volunteers helped with a variety of gardening-related tasks at the Bridge Bleacher Garden community garden, which provides affordable fresh fruits and vegetables to area food banks and families, as well as picked up litter and removed invasive plants at Letort Spring Run.
  

“Our Spring Day of Service is a natural extension of our everyday work,” said Roger Wheeler, President of Retail Business Services. “RBS associates have a service mindset, and we’re proud to give of our time to support our communities and help the planet through this annual volunteer event.”

In addition to the time spent cleaning up litter, pruning gardens and restoring habitats, RBS also donated a total of $42,500 to its 11 nonprofit partners, helping to keep their missions moving forward long after the Spring Day of Service.

Retail Business Services will host a Fall Day of Service centered on food insecurity. To learn more about RBS Cares and our culture, visit retailbusinessservices.com/our-culture.

About Retail Business Services
Retail Business Services is the services company of leading grocery retail group Ahold Delhaize USA, currently providing services to five omnichannel grocery brands: Food Lion, Giant Food, The GIANT Company, Hannaford and Stop & Shop. Retail Business Services leverages the scale of the local brands to drive synergies and provides industry-leading expertise, insights and analytics to local brands to support their strategies with services that include Business Integrity Services (Legal, Risk Management, Quality Assurance), Business Services (HR Technology Systems and Process Management), Communications, Omnichannel Service, Finance Business Services, Financial Planning and Analysis, Human Resources, Indirect Sourcing, Procurement, Information Technology, Pharmacy Services, Store Development, Leasing, Facilities Support, and Strategy and Business Development. We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and we foster a community of belonging where everyone is valued. For more information, visit www.retailbusinessservices.com.