Target teams are working around the clock to support our team members and communities as the deadliest wildfires in California’s history continue to burn across the state.

Target will donate $500,000 to community partners that provide emergency assistance, cleanup and recovery efforts. These funds will go to several organizations, including support to California firefighters as they work to contain the fires and keep communities safe; Team Rubicon for cleanup and recovery efforts; the American Red Cross for relief efforts; GlobalGiving in support of local non-profit responders; and Target’s Team Member Giving Fund that directly supports team members who have been affected by disasters.

As part of this support, we provided funds to local stores for the teams to distribute gift cards to firefighters, evacuation shelters, animal rescue organizations and other local community partners.

“The Red Cross is grateful for the commitment of Target, whose generosity helps provide shelter, food and comfort for people affected by the devastating wildfires in California,” said Don Herring, chief development officer at the American Red Cross.

Last week, as the fires first began to spread, Target’s Green Team—a cross-functional team led by the Global Crisis Management team in our Corporate Command Center (C3), which includes human resources, corporate responsibility, properties, distribution, security and many more teams—activated as part of our established crisis response program. The group supports our stores and distribution centers by monitoring weather conditions, coordinating efforts to take care of our team, shipping much-needed products and putting plans in place to maintain and protect our team, facilities and operations.

Local teams worked quickly to secure nearly 30 Target properties located nearest to the fire zones. The Target store in Westlake Village, near the Woolsey fire, closed for a few days but opened once it was safe for team members and guests. We’ll also continue to monitor and may close additional stores as needed. Meanwhile, our distribution teams are shipping extra trailers of essential products to our California stores—including food, water, air purifiers and cleaning supplies—to continue restocking for our guests. While roads are still crowded and transportation remains difficult, we’re committed to getting the extra products through as quickly as possible.

We’re also contacting every team member in the impacted areas to make sure they’re safe, and encouraging those affected by the fires to tap into the Team Member Giving Fund—a resource built on donations from Target and its team members—which provides assistance to team members facing hardship immediately after natural disasters.

At Target, we’re committed to serving our communities all year long—because when we help build strong communities, the guests and team members who live there help us build a strong business. We’re proud of our long tradition of giving 5 percent of our profit to communities, which today adds up to millions of dollars every week. Learn more about our efforts.

This story was originally published Nov. 12, 2018. It was last updated Nov. 16, 2018.

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