Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise line operator, is giving back. The company announced today that both Carnival Corporation and Carnival Cruise Line are donating a total of $250,000 to charitable organizations to support their efforts on behalf of victims of the Louisiana floods. Recipients will include the American Red Cross, Louisiana Association of United Ways and Save the Children.
The company is also offering passengers who depart from New Orleans on a Carnival cruise the opportunity to donate money when they check in for their cruise. Carnival employees are being encouraged to donate, as well.
“Having home ported Carnival ships in Louisiana for more than two decades, we very much consider ourselves a part of the community and, therefore, it is extremely important to us to provide aid to support the tens of thousands of Louisiana residents who have been affected by these devastating floods,” Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said in a statement.
The American Red Cross is sheltering thousands of residents displaced by the flooding in southern Louisiana and delivering food, relief supplies and emotional support to flood victims. Donations to the Louisiana Association of United Ways will be dispersed among regional United Way organizations in communities affected by the floods to support long-term needs. Save the Children has deployed an emergency response team to Louisiana and is focused on meeting the critical needs of children and families affected by the flooding and moving forward will be working to restore services essential to their well-being.
Carnival has been offering voyages from the Port of New Orleans since 1994. It is the only line that operates two ships (Triumph and Dream) year-around, carrying 450,000 guests from the port annually. Since 2004 Carnival has embarked more than 3 million guests from New Orleans.
Readers can donate online (or send a check) to support the Louisiana United Way Flood Fund. Or if you have your smartphone out, text LAFLOODS to 90999 to donate $10.
