Saturday, when Winn-Dixie shoppers in Pearl River County stock up on their favorite food items, they will also be contributing to the Wounded Warrior Project.
Southeastern Grocers, owner of Winn-Dixie, announced in a release that every cent of every dollar of profit raised this Fourth of July in their stores will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project’s Independence Program. Southeastern Grocers also owns BI-LO and Harveys stores.
The company operates about 800 grocery stores in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, the release states.
According to the release, the WWP helps warriors who rely on the support of their family and friends due to injuries they have suffered while in active duty, such as brain, spinal-cord or other neurological conditions. Each specific plan is designed to provide a future with purpose at no cost to the warriors or their support teams.
“Winn-Dixie, BI-LO and Harveys operate in states with some of the highest active duty military populations in the United States,” CEO and President of Southeastern Grocers said in the release. “While we recognize on Memorial Day those soldiers who paid the supreme sacrifice and give thanks to those who have served on Veterans Day, the sacrifice and needs of those who are severely injured visibly or invisibly is necessarily fully understood. I am honored that we are running this program and am thankful to the military men and women and their families for their service and sacrifice.”
Shopping is not the only way customers can donate, the release states. Customers can also donate during checkout until July 5. Cashiers will hand out “I Donated” stickers to all participating customers.
People can also honor a veteran or service member by writing a dedication on the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/allforhonor.
According to the release, the mission of the WWP is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors, raise awareness, enlist the public to help injured service men and women and provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs.
“Continuing our work with BI-LO, Harveys and Winn-Dixie in the spirit of supporting our lifelong commitment to serving our nation’s veterans is exciting,” CEO of WWP said in the release. “Dedication to our injured service members is evident in the sincere efforts of companies like Southeastern Grocers and the support we will be receiving from them is vital to our mission to honor and empower our Wounded Warriors and Independence Day is the perfect time to celebrate.”
Winn-Dixie Regional Vice-President Karena Niblett said in a release said that to date, more than 52,000 service members have been physically wounded in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
“This staggering number is more than just a statistic to us at Winn-Dixie, it is a representation of our countless military customers that we have the privilege of serving every day.”
Pearl River County is home to two Winn-Dixie supermarkets, located at 1701 Mississippi 43 N. and 801 Hwy. 11 S. in Picayune.
For more information about WWP and Winn-Dixie visit the websites at www.woundedwarriorproject.org and www.winndixie.com.