IGA donates $290,000 to Wounded Warrior Project

The Independent Grocers Alliance (IGA), Chicago, said it donated $290,000 to Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) during the third annual IGA exclusive-brand national marketing initiative, which ran in participating IGA stores from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend in 2013. During the promotional period, IGA donated a portion of the proceeds from the sale of IGA exclusive-brand water, hotdog and hamburger buns, and ice cream featuring specially marked WWP packaging, resulting in more than $198,000 of the donation.

IGA also partnered with Kraft Foods Group through merchandising support on beverage mix displays featuring MiO, Crystal Light and Kool Aid Liquid Water Enhancers in IGA stores during the promotional period, raising an additional $50,000. In addition, IGA partnered with Kraft (Jet-Puffed Marshmallows), Hershey and Nabisco to use their Smore’s display module during the promotional period, raising an additional $10,000 per company for a total of $30,000. IGA retailers’ own fundraising efforts and the IGA WWP Golf Tournament held in the summer of 2013 raised an additional $12,000.

The $290,000 raised in 2013 was $25,000 more than that in 2012, IGA said. In the last three years, IGA donated $675,000 to WWP.

In-store promotion

In 2013, IGA said retailers promoted the WWP initiative in their stores in a number of ways, including creating innovative in-store displays, matching donations, and hosting community events honoring injured service members.

“Once again, we were amazed at the outpouring of support our independent IGA retailers gave this Wounded Warrior Project event,” said Dave Bennett, IGA senior vice president of procurement and exclusive brands. “All across the country, we saw IGA retailers participating by not only selling IGA exclusive-brand water and other sponsor products, but also by getting their entire communities involved to back the important mission of Wounded Warrior Project.

“We’re extremely proud of our IGA retailers for embracing this initiative so enthusiastically for the third year in a row,” he added, “and very pleased that by working with Kraft, Nabisco and Hershey, we were able to donate much needed funds to help our nation’s wounded service members.”