Coca-Cola, Boys & Girls Clubs of Cedar Rapids team up for rain barrel assembly project

On Thursday night, 28 young people from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Cedar Rapids gathered to about water conservation and participate in a rain barrel assembly project in honor of Earth Day. Seven local Coca-Cola employees helped the kids put together the rain barrels. District One City Councilman Kris Gulick also addressed the group.

“Coca-Cola is proud to support the installation of 24 rain barrels in the Cedar Rapids area,” said Tom Bohr, Account Executive for Coca-Cola Refreshments. “With these rain barrels, we're increasing young people's awareness about the importance of water conservation and we're helping our neighbors by providing an inexpensive way for them to water their lawns and gardens.”

All of the rain barrel materials for the event were donated by Coca-Cola Refreshments. April is Earth Month and Coca-Cola is engaging in similar rain barrel events all across the country.

“We are excited that we could give the kids an opportunity like this,” said John Tursi, Executive Director for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Cedar Rapids. “They are motivated to make a difference by learning about the importance of water conservation in our community.”

This event is part of a month-long Earth Day celebration where Coca-Cola is partnering with River Network and other organizations to provide more than 1,000 syrup drums for reuse as rain barrels in the United States. With these donations, Coca-Cola will have provided more than 22,000 syrup drums to be used as rain barrels in the U.S. since 2008. These rain barrels now will help replenish an estimated 60 million gallons of water each year. That is enough to fill 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The Company's syrup drum donations for Earth Day kicked off this month with this event and others throughout the United States. Other Coca-Cola Earth Day activities include associates volunteering for cleanups and a celebration at the Company's headquarters in Atlanta.

To date, more than 80 organizations have benefitted from Coca-Cola's rain barrel donation program. These organizations have replenished an estimated 100 million gallons of water.

Sediment that travels into rivers and streams as a result of stormwater runoff directly impacts water quality and quantity. By capturing stormwater during rainy events, these rain barrels eliminate some of that runoff, reducing its impact. Water can then be saved until needed during dry periods to water plants, wash cars or for other non-drinking water needs. Not only does this reduce water usage, but it saves money.

“Rain barrels are a tangible and effective way to inspire change to preserve our water resources,” said Jon Radtke, Water Resources Director for Coca-Cola Refreshments. “Working with our local partners, we can encourage communities to save water drop by drop, barrel by barrel, and replenish a significant amount of water back into nature.”

Coca-Cola supports water replenish projects throughout the world in an effort to meet its goal to return to nature an amount of water equivalent to what the Company uses in all of its products and their production by 2020. The Company is reducing the amount of water it uses, recycling the water used in its operations and replenishing water to communities and nature.

Water stewardship is one of seven focus areas that make up Coca-Cola's Live Positively™ platform, the Company's commitment to making a positive difference in the world by growing business in economically, environmentally and socially sustainable ways. For more information on Live Positively, visit

www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/index.html.

About The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, our Company's portfolio features 15 billion dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of more than 1.7 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system employees. For more information, please www.thecoca-colacompany.com or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo.

About the Boys & Girls Clubs of Cedar Rapids

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Cedar Rapids was established in 1993. The Club provides varied and diversified youth development programs to the youth of Cedar Rapids. Our mission is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those that need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.

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