Ace Hardware’s Hurricane Response

Ace Hardware
Published: October 31st, 2024

Supporting Communities and Team Members in Need

October 31, 2024 // Franchising.com // Oak Brook, Ill.-The Ace Hardware community has once again rallied with resilience, determination, and a deep sense of compassion to support those impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Recognizing the immediate demand for essential supplies, our distribution centers in the East and South regions quickly mobilized, delivering emergency items to Ace retail locations throughout the impacted areas. This rapid response was made possible through the extraordinary teamwork between our distribution centers and vendor partners.

Even more inspiring, Ace retailers affected directly by the storm rapidly reopened their doors to bring much-needed supplies to their communities. Many of our red-vested heroes, despite facing personal losses like power and even homes, showed up ready to help. These dedicated individuals exemplify the Ace spirit – putting their communities first, even in the most challenging circumstances.

Ace Employees Come Together: The Ace Disaster Relief Bucket Effort

In response to these disasters, Ace Hardware employees and retailers across the country rallied together to support affected communities. Partnering with World Vision, our team created “Ace Disaster Relief Buckets” filled with essential items like gloves, cleaning supplies, and dust masks. Employees from our Oak Brook office volunteered their time to assemble these buckets, demonstrating their commitment to helping communities in crisis.

With overwhelming support from our team and retailer network, we reached our goal of 1,000 sponsored buckets in less than 24 hours. We then quickly shifted to using the generous donations to purchase bulk items like rakes, shovels, heaters and dehumidifiers. These buckets and additional clean-up items are currently being distributed at World Vision’s 18 relief sites in the areas impacted by the hurricanes, helping those in need access critical supplies.

The outpouring of generosity and support from our Ace family highlights the strength of our community—and the spirit of helping that defines Ace Hardware.

Our Ongoing Commitment

Ace Hardware has already made significant contributions to support relief efforts:

• Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals: Donations were made to Prisma Health Children's Hospital in Greenville, SC, and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in Tampa, both serving families affected by the hurricanes.
• American Red Cross: Hundreds of Ace stores across the country have activated “Round Up” at their point-of-sale, raising funds for relief efforts in addition to personal monetary donations made by our retailers and employees
• Ace Helpful Fund: We have received tremendous financial support for our emergency employee assistance fund, which has already helped dozens of members of the Ace family impacted by the hurricanes.

As we continue to work with World Vision and the American Red Cross to bring essential supplies to communities in need and provide assistance via our Ace Helpful Fund Ace remains committed to uplifting and empowering those affected by these disasters. Thank you to our retailers, employees, and partners for making Ace shine brightest on the darkest days.

To learn more about the Ace Hardware Foundation, please visit https://acehardwarefoundation.org/.

SOURCE Ace Hardware