Walmart gives $150K to Convoy of Hope for Florence relief efforts

Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) contributed $150,000 toward Springfield-based Convoy of Hope’s ongoing Hurricane Florence disaster relief efforts in the Carolinas.

Convoy of Hope has served nearly 37,000 people and distributed over 732,000 pounds of disaster relief supplies with the help of roughly 1,590 volunteers, according to a response update issued this morning.

The funding from Walmart came from point-of-sale donations by customers at its stores, according to a news release. Walmart previously pledged to donate $2 for every dollar donated by a customer, for a maximum donation of $5 million.

“As our neighbors in the Carolinas continue to recover, we are proud to support organizations on the front line, providing critical support,” said Julie Gehrki, vice president of Walmart, in the release. “Thanks to the generosity of our customers, we fully met our match. The funds from Walmart and Walmart customers will immediately assist communities with response and sheltering while investing in essential long-term recovery across the Carolinas.”

Separately, Convoy of Hope is hosting an online fundraiser for Hurricane Florence relief efforts. In the first six days, the fundraiser brought in $11,060 of its $25,000 goal, as of 10:36 a.m.

Hurricane Florence has been responsible for more than 40 deaths and an estimated $38 billion to $50 billion damages from heavy rains and flooding, according to Moody’s Analytics and reporting by The Wall Street Journal.