American Red Cross: Multifaceted Partnership Magnifies Impact

Safety is a way of life for us at UGI. We take time to be safe, to safeguard one another, and make safety a priority in our interactions with our colleagues, customers, and communities. As we align with community partners and show up in our communities as a valued neighbor, we seek those organizations with shared values and priorities. UGI has a long-standing partnership with the American Red Cross, a global nonprofit who places a priority on community safety and preparedness. Since 2014, UGI has donated over $900,000 to the American Red Cross to help make homes and residents safer across our service territory.

UGI’s partnership supported the “Sound the Alarm” campaign, a program that has saved more than 1,500 lives and installed nearly 2.5 million smoke alarms nationwide. In addition to financial support from the company, UGI employees also use volunteer hours to support the efforts of the American Red Cross. In 2023, UGI employee volunteers supported Sound the Alarm events in Lebanon, Reading, Pottsville, Shenandoah, Bethlehem-Northampton, and Easton. Volunteers provide fire safety education to residents and install free smoke alarms.

“Living in an area with so much poverty, the American Red Cross Sound the Alarm project is beneficial to so many families in our community,” said UGI employee volunteer Katie Shiko. “We have a lot of row homes, and knowing the statistics, I know that us installing smoke alarms in these homes can help save someone’s life. I have been volunteering with this project for several years now, and it always gives me some peace of mind knowing that we are helping some families who otherwise would not have had the resources to install these lifesaving smoke alarms in their home. It makes me proud to know this is an organization that UGI continues to support, as their impact in our local communities is immeasurable.”

While UGI’s partnership with the American Red Cross was originally formed on the shared value of community safety, it has evolved to employees supporting all facets of the critical work of the American Red Cross. One example is response through the recent support of biomedical services. The American Red Cross provides about 40% of our nation’s blood and blood components from generous blood donors. When our partners shared messaging about a national blood shortage, UGI employees at our Denver location responded by organizing and hosting an on-site blood drive. Through our efforts, 35 units of blood were collected, and 20 employees were first time blood donors. Each unit of donated blood can save up to three lives. To provide ongoing support to our friends and neighbors in need, UGI will host another on-site blood drive in January of 2024.

We have also expanded our partnership to support the American Red Cross’s Service to Armed Forces. As part of our efforts to support the community during the holiday season, UGI employees participated in the Holidays for Heroes program. Our employees signed over 100 holiday cards complete with messages of thanks for local Veterans to be distributed by the American Red Cross in December. Holidays for Heroes provides a bridge for the civilian community to reach Pennsylvania’s Veterans and helps them to share wishes of joy and cheer during the holiday season.

The American Red Cross provides essential services to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies, whether that be a blood shortage, military deployment, home fire, or natural disaster. UGI is proud to support the American Red Cross’s multifaceted efforts to help those in need in the communities in which our customers and employees live and work.