• by Karlene Lukovitz , June 20, 2008

Nestle Waters North America is among the corporations coming to the aid of Midwestern states beleaguered by flooding and tornadoes.

The company has donated nearly a quarter million half- and one-liter bottles of Nestle Pure Life and Ice Mountain Natural Spring Water during the past week to citizens and disaster-relief workers in flood-stricken areas of Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin. Americares and the American Red Cross are distributing the donations.

In late May, Nestle Waters also donated more than 35,000 half-liter bottles of Pure Life to Iowans affected by a level-five tornado.

The company has become well known for its relief efforts in recent years, having provided millions of bottles of water during previous natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the 2007 Southern California wildfires.

Nestle has also donated water to communities when public water supplies were non-potable-for example, sending 114,000 bottles to Alamosa, Colo. this past March when its water supply was temporarily tainted by salmonella bacteria.

The goodwill generated can't be expressed in dollars. "We can always count on the support of Nestle Waters to help us provide essential aid to communities affected by disasters," said Red Cross VP, development operations, stressing that clean water and food are the number one needs during a natural disaster.

This tornado season has been the deadliest since 1998, according to the Red Cross, which has responded to 32 major disasters across the country, mostly tornadoes and floods, since April 28.

Some of the other corporations that have contributed to the relief efforts include:

• Wal-Mart has donated a half-million dollars in cash and merchandise to Indiana and other flood-affected Midwestern states.

• Target donated $100,000 in cash and product to the Red Cross, The Salvation Army and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support the flood relief efforts, and immediately fulfilled requests for bottled water, donating more than 136,000 bottles to the region.

• Eli Lilly and Company, through its charitable foundation, donated $100,000 in financial assistance to disaster victims in Indiana through the regional arm of the Red Cross's Disaster Relief Fund.

• Other companies contribute to Red Cross relief efforts through the organization's Annual Disaster Giving Program, pledging ongoing donations in advance of major disasters. Major contributors include American Express, AT&T, AXA Foundation, ConAgra Foods Foundation, FedEx Corp., JCPenney Company Fund, Kimberly-Clark Corp., Merck & Co., Inc., MorganStanley, Raytheon Company, State Farm, Sate Street Corp., Target and The TJX Companies, Inc.