STAMFORD — The start of the Atlantic hurricane season looms only a few weeks away.
Nestlé Waters North America is approaching the 10 million mark in bottled-water donations to disaster relief and humanitarian aid nonprofit Americares.
In the 13-year parternship, Nestlé Waters has become Americares’ main partner for delivering bottled water to areas in the United States affected by natural disasters and public health crises.
A shared commitment to delivering a necessity to vulnerable communities has solidified the partnership, say executives of the two Stamford organizations.
With 30 production facilities across the U.S., Nestlé Waters North America can quickly deliver bottled water to disaster areas.
“The Americares team can provide information back to us in a timely manner,” Cleary said.
The lead poisoning of the city’s water supply affected about 100,000 families, including many who would not be able to afford a steady supply of bottled water.
In January 2016, Americares and Nestlé Waters responded.
“When our emergency teams are on the ground, they’re able to talk to partners about the needs people will have,” Weiss said.
“We hear directly from those teams on the ground, and we communicate that information back to Nestle Waters.” More than a decade earlier, the partnership faced its first major test with the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.