Archer Daniels Midland Gives $325,000 To Living Lands & Waters
The Waterways Journal
7 March 2011
Archer Daniels Midland Company, an agricultural conglomerate based in
Decatur, Ill., announced on February 24 a donation of $325,000 to
Living Lands & Waters, a nonprofit organization that promotes the
health and vitality of the nation's inland waterways. The donation is
being made through ADM Cares, the company's social-investment program.
ADM's donation includes $125,000 to support ongoing river cleanup and
restoration projects and $200,000 to expand the organization's floating
classroom program. The floating classroom, a barge made from materials
reclaimed from the river and from other renewable materials, serves as
a facility for students and teachers to study environmental issues
associated with large rivers. The mobile class-room will visit several
states each year along the Mississippi, Illinois, and Ohio rivers.
Royce Wilken, president of ADM subsidiary American River Transportation
Company, said, "Helping clean up the Mississippi River is important to
the 18 million people who depend on the river for drinking water. It's
also important to ADM, because we depend on the U.S. waterways to ship
grain from American farms to where it's needed around the world."
Volunteer Time
"Beyond our financial support, ADM employees have also dedicated
thousands of volunteer hours to cleaning the Mississippi River and
other major U.S. waterways in collaboration with Living Lands &
Waters," Wilken added.
"ADM has been a valued partner of Living Lands & Waters since
2004," said Chad Pregracke, founder of Living Lands & Waters. "In
addition to the financial support that helps us operate, we are
thankful for the hard work and enthusiasm of the hundreds of ADM
employees who have given their time to help with our river cleanups
throughout the years."
Jennifer Ballinger, manager, ADM Cares, said, "Education is crucial to
the preservation of our great river system and all natural resources.
Through the floating classroom project, Living Lands & Waters
reaches hundreds of high school students every year, giving them a
memorable, personal encounter that we hope will inspire future
stewardship and long-term preservation of our nations waterways."
ADM Cares is a corporate social-investment program that directs up to 1
percent of ADM's pretax profits to various causes. The program has
three areas of focus: supporting the responsible development of
agriculture, improving the quality of life in ADM communities, and
fostering employee giving and volunteer activities.
Living Lands & Waters, a 501 (c) (3) environmental organization
founded in 1998 and headquartered in East Moline, Ill., conducts a
variety of initiatives including Community River Cleanups, Big River
Educational Workshops, the MillionTrees Project, the Riverbottom Forest
Restoration Project, and Adopt-a-River Mile.