Great Lakes Wine & Spirits
donating $100,000 to California wildfire relief funds
Michigan beer, wine and spirits distributor continues charitable giving at home and afar
DETROIT – Great Lakes Wine & Spirits (GLWAS), Michigan’s largest distributor of beer, wine and spirits, today announced it is donating $100,000 to California wildfire relief funds. The distributor is donating $50,000 to both the Napa Valley Community Foundation Disaster Relief Fund and the Sonoma County Community Foundation Resilience Fund.
“Watching the destruction and devastation unfold in California’s wine country has been heartbreaking for me and the team at Great Lakes Wine & Spirits, and we wanted to reach out and do something to help,” said Lew Cooper III, Co-CEO at GLWAS. “We’re hopeful this donation can help some of the thousands of people left homeless or jobless get back on their feet and pick up the pieces from these catastrophic fires.”
California winemakers and distributors have worked hard to keep their business online amid the devastating fires. There were only temporary shutdowns of some distribution centers and warehouses during the wildfires, and GLWAS did not have any orders reduced, cancelled or retracted because of the fires.
“The determination to maintain business as usual in the midst of this widespread disaster is a testament to the resilience of our California wine industry partners,” Cooper said.
“Many of our suppliers and their vineyards in California came away unscathed, but we know not everyone was so fortunate,” said Syd Ross, Co-CEO of GLWAS. “Our hearts go out to all of those who suffered the loss of loved ones or their homes or businesses.”
This is not the first charitable effort this year by GLWAS and its employees to help those impacted by a natural disaster. In September, the distributor donated a tractor-trailer to be filled with supplies to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey. GLWAS also recently donated $5,000 to Jack Daniels’ Operation Ride Home – which helps members of our military get home for the holidays – and sponsored an event that raised $58,000 for North Central Michigan College.
“Beer and wine distributors and their employees have long been leaders in charitable giving at home and beyond, and we’re proud to reach out and help those in need, whether they’re in our own backyard or thousands of miles away,” Ross said.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Contact: Nick Goebel, Great Lakes Wine & Spirits, 248-767-6276