Purina Cares Day: Employees Help Pets, People in Need During Annual Day of Service

Nestlé Purina PetCare Company announced the success of its annual day of service, known as Purina Cares Day. The 24^th annual event supported the St. Louis community, which was recently devastated by an EF-3 tornado, as well as 33 other cities where the company has factories and sales offices.

Each year, Purina asks its more than 15,000 employees from across the country to volunteer to support needs in their local communities. The effort is an extension of the company’s commitment to building stronger, healthier communities and fostering deep connections between people and pets.

This year was even more meaningful as Purina’s headquarters city of St. Louis recently sustained substantial damage due to a deadly tornado that struck on May 16.

“Giving back to our communities is at the heart of who we are at Purina,” said Nina Leigh Krueger, CEO andp resident at Nestlé Purina PetCare Company. “Purina Cares Day is a meaningful opportunity for employees to take time away from work, come together and make a difference. This year was even more important given increased community needs in the wake of the recent storms that swept through our hometown.

This year, more than 1,500 associates from Purina’s headquarters in downtown St. Louis, along with 1,300 employees from the company’s 24 manufacturing facilities and nine regional sales offices, dedicated over 5,000 volunteer hours completing service projects that took place across 34 U.S. cities.

Purina Cares Day efforts ranged from supporting pet welfare, youth and veteran organizations to beautifying parks, city landmarks and community gardens.

Highlights from the day included:

• Feeding Pets and People: Purina partnered with the St. Louis Area Foodbank and the APA Adoption Center to distribute food and supplies to people and pets in need at Ballpark Village in downtown St. Louis.
• Engaging Youth: Employees hosted a field day at Guardian Angel Settlement Association’s early childhood education center, helped prepare for summer camp programing at LitShop, and built 50 bikes for youth at LifeWise STL, promoting active and healthy lifestyles.
• Supporting Military Veterans: Purina volunteers assembled 120 snack packs for homeless veterans entering the Veterans Community Project and made 130 “vets with pets” kits for resident veterans who own a pet or have a PTSD service dog.
• Environmental Stewardship: Employees cleaned up trash and debris along the downtown riverfront, supported Forest ReLeaf of Missouri in their efforts to increase tree canopy in urban communities, and worked in community gardens, contributing to a healthier environment.
• Promoting Pet Adoption and Enrichment: Employees prepared more than 1,000 new pet adoption kits, 400 pet enrichment toys and 300 pet blankets, assembled 150 pet cots and customized pet ID tags to support local pets in shelters.
• Caring for the Unhoused: Purina worked alongside Peter & Paul Community Services to spruce up its new shelter for the unhoused and created over 2,000 care kits and 1,200 laundry kits, providing essential items for daily life.

In addition to completing community service, Purina donated more than $50,000 towards tornado relief efforts in the St. Louis-area and organized a supply drive for those in need.