Jim Beam supports military families with $100,000 donation to fund holidays meals program
Jim Beam supports military families with $100,000 donation to fund holidays meals program
Fort Knox, Ky. – December 14, 2015 – Jim Beam® Bourbon, the world’s No. 1 bourbon, proudly salutes military men and women with a $100,000 donation to Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit that provides emergency financial and other assistance to the families of service members and wounded warriors. The donation, which was presented last weekend by seventh generation Jim Beam Master Distiller Fred Noe in support of Operation Homefront’s Holiday Meals for Military program, underscores Jim Beam’s ongoing commitment to America’s service men and women.
“At Jim Beam, we’re honored to support our military heroes and call them part of our family,” said Noe. “As America’s native spirit, Bourbon is engrained in the history of our great country. We proudly salute those who defend our freedom each and every day.”
The Holiday Meals for Military program began at Thanksgiving in 2009 following a chance encounter in a supermarket in Utica, N.Y., near Fort Drum. A soldier, his wife and infant had a handful of grocery items they could not afford, so a Jim Beam employee picked up the $12 cost. The first Holiday Meals for Military Families event was held weeks later, providing 500 meal kits to military families, and the program has since expanded to 8,500 meals kits on 25 bases this holiday season and will include items such as pumpkin pie mix, stuffing and cut green beans. In addition to Ft. Knox, participating bases include Fort Campbell, Fort Bragg, Fort Hood and Illinois’ Scott Air Force Base among others.
“Our military members work tirelessly to protect the freedoms we enjoy daily in an increasingly complex world,” said Brig Gen (ret) John I. Pray, Jr., president & CEO of Operation Homefront. “Thanks to the active support of Jim Beam and other incredibly supportive sponsors, we have been able to greatly extend the reach of our holiday meal program and make the holiday season brighter for our military families.”
Jim Beam has donated more than $2.5 million to Operation Homefront through a variety of charitable programming efforts since 2008, including partnership on this year’s Holiday Meals program and hosting a local fundraising dinner at the company’s flagship distillery in Clermont, Ky., this fall. The company is also proud to employ numerous veterans and active military personnel.