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American Red Cross Honors W. W. Grainger, Inc. at Heritage of Service Dinner A Celebration of Inspiration and Hope

Manufacturing News, Source : The Manufacturer US
Zone : Leadership and strategy
Published : 17 May 2007 22:31

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 17, 2007 – The American Red Cross honored W. W. Grainger, Inc. with its prestigious Henry P. Davison Award at its inaugural Heritage of Service Dinner May 16, 2007, at the American Red Cross Hall of Service.

The Heritage of Service Dinner recognizes the outstanding dedication and commitment from individuals and corporations who enable the organization to achieve its mission each year. Grainger's impressive Ready When the Time Comes program exemplifies the community service excellence that marked Henry Davison's tenure as chairman of the War Council that led the Red Cross through World War I and chairman of what is now the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The national donor recognition event, sponsored by State Farm, brought together members of Congress, military leaders, Washington dignitaries, and corporate representatives.

"The Heritage of Service dinner is an opportunity to bring together some of our organization's most dedicated partners, supporters and friends to celebrate their commitment to the Red Cross," said Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, Chairman of the Red Cross. "Grainger's 'Ready When the Time Comes'

program exemplifies the impact local businesses and their employees can have on providing services to communities. It's only with the help and generosity of individuals and companies such as Grainger, that the Red Cross is able to support its lifesaving mission of preventing, preparing for and responding to emergencies."

"I was pleased to take part in this event by accepting the Henry P. Davison Award on behalf of Grainger," said Richard Keyser, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Grainger. "Over the past decade, I've had the pleasure of guiding Grainger's evolution into a company that actively supports and champions disaster preparedness and recovery efforts. The American Red Cross is a valued partner to Grainger and we're proud of the success of the Ready When the Time Comes program and how it is helping local communities strengthen their disaster preparedness efforts."

Grainger is the national founding sponsor of Ready When the Time Comes, an American Red Cross corporate volunteer involvement program that taps the human resources of corporate America by training employees from partnering corporations and mobilizing them as a community-based volunteer force when disaster strikes. Originally launched by the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago in 2001, Grainger has been actively involved in the program since its inception. Ready When the Time Comes was adopted nationally in 2006, with

16 Red Cross chapters piloting the program. Over the next two years, local Red Cross chapters will be working with over 100 corporate Ready When the Time Comes partners with several thousand volunteers in place. Local Grainger branches and distribution centers also provide hundreds of new employee volunteers to pilot chapters.

In 1899, at age 32, Henry Davison became the youngest U.S. bank president. In 1917, President Wilson created a War Council to lead the Red Cross through World War I and appointed Davison as its Chairman. Under Davison's persuasive leadership, wartime contributions to the Red Cross reached the extraordinary value of $400 million; Red Cross membership grew to 31 million, including 11 million members of the newly created Junior Red Cross; and the number of Red Cross workers surpassed eight million. After the war, the dynamic and enterprising Davison spearheaded the drive to form an association of national Red Cross societies to carry on peacetime relief work and served as its first chairman. Today this association is known as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Bradley Whitford, star of the NBC show "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," "The West Wing, and a member of the Red Cross national celebrity cabinet, emceed the event.

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