LOS ANGELES, June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) employees today held a contactless donation drive-up event for the Children's Fund of San Bernardino County to deliver hygiene and infant care items as well as gift cards for children and families in need. The organization will distribute these items to agencies and nonprofits that serve children experiencing poverty, abuse, and neglect. Photos and videos from today's event are available here.
"SoCalGas and our employees are pleased to support Children's Fund with this event and to help our communities stay strong during an unprecedented time," said Kristine Scott, senior public affairs manager at SoCalGas. "Now, more than ever, it is critical that we support our communities in need. With the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the number of individuals and families struggling with homelessness on the rise, we know that the incredible mission of the Children's Fund is crucial, and we are proud to be a community partner and see our employees stepping up to support this effort."
"The timing couldn't be better for this donation drive," said Dr. Ciriaco "Cid" Pinedo, president and CEO of Children's Fund. "These are critical times when people have lost their jobs or had their hours reduced, and they need assistance meeting basic needs like hygiene items and baby necessities. In a county where one in four children live in poverty, this support is needed now more than ever." He adds, "We would like to thank the employees of SoCalGas for their generosity and support."
For today's drive, donors could purchase hygiene and infant care items such as diapers, baby lotion, shampoo, conditioner, face coverings and drugstore gift cards to drop off at Children's Fund.
Children's Fund is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1986, and serving the county of San Bernardino whose mission is to give vulnerable children support, opportunity, and hope by breaking destructive cycles through community partnerships. The organization works with more than 80 agencies and nonprofit organizations to provide children in need with shelter, medical care, counseling, rental assistance for families and much more.
Last year, Children's Fund served over 66,000 children. The organization distributed nearly 3,000 new clothing and hygiene products, donated over 43,000 holiday gifts, and gave over 2,700 children new beds and bedding thanks in part to community partners like SoCalGas.
SoCalGas is a longtime supporter of Children's Fund, having collaborated with the organization since 2000.
Since March, SoCalGas has donated more than $2 million to nonprofit organizations to support the region's workforce, feed the hungry, provide bill assistance to customers, and more as part of its COVID-19 recovery efforts. For more information on SoCalGas' response to the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit www.socalgas.com/coronavirus.
About Children's Fund
Founded in 1986 by the Honorable Patrick Morris, the late Jack H. Brown, and Co-founder A. Gary Anderson, Children's Fund is a nonprofit whose mission is giving our vulnerable children support, opportunity, and hope by breaking destructive cycles through community partnerships. Last year, Children's Fund provided more than 66,000 services to children in need in San Bernardino County and since its inception has facilitated over 1.7 million points of service to children and families. For more information on Children's Fund or to learn how you can give a child hope for brighter tomorrows, go to www.childrensfund.org or call 909.379.0000.
About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable gas service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California, where more than 90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to Californians— about 45 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants.
SoCalGas's vision is to be the cleanest gas utility in North America, delivering affordable and increasingly renewable energy to its customers. In support of that vision, SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2014 through 2018, the company invested nearly $6.5 billion to upgrade and modernize its pipeline system to enhance safety and reliability. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook.
SOURCE Southern California Gas Company
