美国奥驰亚集团捐赠了500万美金，以解决美国黑人所面临的种族歧视问题，促进社会和经济平等。这些资金将用于支持美国及奥驰亚运营社区中的国家及地方组织，并为近期受到暴乱行为影响的小型企业提供资金支持。这一承诺是对奥驰亚集团计划的3030年公司捐赠的补充。
奥驰亚集团首席执行官比利·吉福德（Billy Gifford）表示：“这是一段艰难的时期，作为一个国家，我们必须找到解决分歧及潜在的系统性问题的办法。” “我们知道目前我们还没有确切的答案，但我们会聆听并学习多样化的同事、社区成员和其他人的意见，在公司以及我们称之为家的地方寻求进步。”
奥驰亚集团还将发起为期一个月的员工捐赠活动，该活动将以两比一的比例匹配所有员工的捐款。 Unifi，奥驰亚的黑人员工资源小组（ERG）和其他ERG小组将选择捐助组织。另外，奥驰亚集团将于6月19日宣布了全公司范围的带薪“康复日”，使员工有时间进行自我反思和心理治愈。奥驰亚集团还表示支持拆除在里士满的联邦古迹，其曾是美国弗吉尼亚州的联邦首都。
儿童无烟运动主席马修·迈尔斯（MATthew L. Myers）否认了奥驰亚的捐赠，称其是“无耻的伪善”。
“在今天宣布向非裔美国人组织捐款500万美金后，万宝路的制造商奥驰亚集团再次试图转移人们的注意力，弱化香烟已造成的巨大伤害，力图保证对数十年来损害非裔美国人健康的薄荷香烟的长期销售。”他说。
Altria Donates $5 Million to Fight Racial Inequality
Altria Group is donating $5 million dollars to address systemic racism faced by black Americans and advance social and economic equity. These funds will be used to support national and local organizations working across the United States and in Altria’s operating communities, as Well as provide immediate support to small businesses in the company’s communities impacted by recent vandalism. This commitment is incremental to Altria’s planned 3030 corporate giving.
“These are difficult times, and we must find ways to embrace our differences, address underlying systemic issues and move forward as a country,” said Billy Gifford, Altria’s chief executive officer. “We know we don’t have all the answers, but we will learn by listening to our diverse colleagues, community members and others as we seek progress within our company and the places we call home.”
Altria will also launch a month-long employee giving campaign which will match on a two-for-one basis all employee donations. Recipient organizations will be selected by Unifi, Altria’s Black Employee Resource Group (ERG) and other ERGs. Altria also announced a company-wide paid “Day of Healing” on June 19 to allow employees time for personal reflection and healing. Altria is also voicing support for removing confederate monuments in its hometown of Richmond, Virginia, USA, once the capital of the Confederacy.
Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, diSMISSed Altria’s donation as “shameless hypocrisy.”
“With its announcement today of a $5 million donation to African-American organizations, Marlboro-maker Altria is once again trying to divert attention away from the enormous harm it has done and continues to do to the health of African Americans with the targeted, decades-long marketing of menthol cigarettes,” he stated.
