As part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mars Inc. is working to better support the communities in which it operates and the most vulnerable in its extended supply chains, which includes an initial cash and in-kind donation of $20 million.
“Our approach for working through this COVID crisis has been, and will continue to be, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our Associates, doing our part to prevent the spread of the virus and caring for our communities,” said Mars CEO Grant F. Reid. “This week, we’re announcing a commitment of $20 million in cash and in-kind product donations to support the hundreds of communities where we live and work, or whom we depend upon for our agricultural ingredients. We’re all in this together and we want to do our part to help those most in need.”
The support package includes:
- $5 million donation to support CARE for critical supplies and expertise that will be deployed in the developing world, to women, children and refugee populations.
- $2 million donation to the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) to aid in the transport and delivery of critical supplies for all United Nations agencies as they respond to the pandemic.
- $1 million donation to Humane Society International (HSI) to help cats and dogs that have been abandoned, left behind or surrendered to shelters due to their owners falling ill or no longer having the financial means to care for them.
The balance of $12 million will come from a combination of cash and in-kind donations from across the markets where Mars operates as well as donations from its Foundations including The Mars Wrigley Foundation, the Banfield Foundation, the Pedigree Foundation and the Tasty Bite Foundation.
“All our lives, our family has believed that our Five Principles are fundamental to the culture and success of Mars,” said Frank Mars, Chair of the Board of Directors for Mars. “However, it’s during times of crisis that purpose and key guiding principles are both most important and really tested. We will only get through this pandemic by thinking mutually — by supporting one another, and that’s what this commitment to our communities is all about.”
For more than a century, Mars has been driven by the belief that the world it wants tomorrow starts with how it does business today. This idea is at the center of who Mars has always been as a global, family-owned business. Today, Mars is transforming, innovating and evolving in ways that affirm its commitment to making a positive impact on the world.
Across its diverse and expanding portfolio of confectionery, food, and petcare products and services, Mars employs 125,000 people. With $40 billion in annual sales, Mars produces some of the world’s best-loved brands including DOVE, EXTRA, M&M’s, MILKY WAY, SNICKERS, TWIX, ORBIT, PEDIGREE, ROYAL CANIN, SKITTLES, UNCLE BEN’S, WHISKAS, COCOAVIA and 5; and takes care of half of the world’s pets through its pet health services AniCura, Banfield Pet Hospitals, BluePearl, Linnaeus, Pet Partners, and VCA.