The Open Road Foundation announced that it has provided victim assistance grants worth a total of $74,000 to 19 employees of Coach America to help defray those families’ expenses related to severe flooding along the Souris River in the area of Minot, N.D. The homes of all 19 employees were damaged or destroyed by floods caused by heavy rains upstream in Canada, together with snow melt and heavy local rains.
“The support from the Open Road Foundation was incredibly generous and came at a very crucial time for our employees,” says George Maney, president and chief executive officer of Coach America, the largest tour and bus operator in the United States. “The speed of the response to the crisis helped our employees in the Minot area deal with what was and continues to be a truly life-altering experience. The Open Road Foundation has been there in the past for our people and was again this time.”
More than 11,000 people total were evacuated. “We were very pleased to be able to respond in a timely manner to this crisis,” says Bill Webb, president of The Open Road Foundation. “We felt this was such a significant event that we needed to respond to the limits of our ability as a board of trustees and provide economic relief for these employees and their families. Because of the support of our many sponsors and contributors, we were in a financial position to provide these grants.”
