On February 1, 2022, the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (the URCS) and Coca-Cola HBC Ukraine signed a new Memorandum on deepening cooperation, considering the most recent challenges. Now the agreement covers not only emergency response and support of socially vulnerable people but also the promotion of volunteering and youth development.
Coca-Cola HBC and the Red Cross Society have been implementing joint projects for more than 10 years. Their partnership started back in 2009 and was officially documented on January 27, 2012, by signing the first Memorandum. For these years of cooperation, Coca-Cola HBC donated to the URCS more than 900,000 liters of water and drinks, encouraged its employees to join volunteer events, and gave prompt logistics support in cargo deliveries all over Ukraine.
Together, partners helped people to survive outbreaks of epidemics, supported displaced persons affected by floods, fires, and severe frosts. In 2009, during the outbreak of H1N1 epidemic, Coca-Cola shared its distribution system to deliver medicines all over Ukraine. And the following year, the company provided water to flood victims in Western Ukraine. When Ukrainians suffered from flooding in the Odesa region in 2013, Coca-Cola supplied and delivered water in affected areas. Also, in 2014, the company provided prompt logistics assistance in resource allocation to regional URCS organizations.
Coca-Cola and the Red Cross Society responded well to COVID-19 pandemic challenge. The Coca-Cola Foundation supported donation of more than UAH 8 million to the Red Cross to procure medical equipment for 7 key hospitals. Since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, Coca-Cola HBC Ukraine in cooperation with URCS supported 15 hospitals in 5 regions of Ukraine and delivered drinking water and drinks for doctors and patients every week. They also regularly delivered their products for elderly, children from orphanages and other vulnerable Ukrainians.
In 2020, Coca-Cola HBC quickly reacted to the aggravation of the donated blood shortage caused by pandemic. Together with the URCS, they initiated blood donation campaign in Ukraine, and more than 15 thousand donors received the company's products.
And starting from 2022, the Coca-Cola HBC, in partnership with the Ukrainian Red Cross Society will also support the development of young people and start new areas of corporate volunteering.
At the international level, Coca-Cola and Red Cross has been cooperating since 1917, and since then the company gives assistance to Red Cross in implementation of its humanitarian initiatives around the world.
