RALEIGH, NC – Crown Imports announced today that the highly successful “Corona Cares” charitable donation program in North Carolina will kick off on August 1 to benefit patient and family support programs at the N.C. Cancer Hospital. Over the past two years, “Corona Cares” has provided more than $210,000 for these programs.
Donald Rosenstein, MD, director of the UNC Comprehensive Cancer Support Program, says, “Cancer can be extraordinarily challenging for patients and families and we could not offer many of the services we provide without the support of this program and all of our generous donors.”
The program, visited more than 16,000 times each year, provides a wide range of services, including free educational materials for patients who are just learning about their cancer, reduced-price nutritional supplementation and sessions with a cancer nutritionist for patients who have trouble eating normally during cancer treatment, providing more than 1,500 head coverings each year for patients who are losing their hair as a result of cancer treatment, gas cards for patients who must drive long distances to get treatment, educational programs, counseling and support groups.
Rodney Long, principal at Long Beverage, Inc., says, “The Long Beverage family is excited to be able to partner with ‘Corona Cares’ for a third consecutive year. The services provided at the N.C. Cancer Hospital really make a difference to people during a very difficult time.
“This is a program that sees a need and tries to find a way to help, I can’t say enough about the positive impact this has on patients and families,” he added.
Karl Owen, who lost his wife Susan to cancer and participates in the program’s support group for single fathers agrees, “We realized during Susan’s treatment that there are numerous people who travel more than 50 miles for treatment. People don’t realize how many resources your family needs to get through the treatment process.”
The “‘Corona Cares” program was initiated in 2005 by Crown Imports and local wholesalers to benefit sick kids and their families at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. It has since spread to additional markets and benefits other charities. Crown Imports, Corona’s exclusive U.S. importer provides all of the necessary program tools to wholesalers including, “Corona Cares” paper limes that are sold in retail accounts, customized pennant strings, and graphics for creating banners and posters. At the N.C. Cancer Hospital, funds will support programs that benefit patients and families receiving cancer treatment.
Local wholesalers participating in 2012 include Carolina Premium Beverages, Coastal Beverage Company, Healy Wholesale Company, Long Beverage Company, Skyland Distributing Company, United Beverages of North Carolina, RH Barringer Distributing Company, and RA Jeffreys Distributing Company.
The North Carolina “Corona Cares” program, now in its third year, will run through the month of August across the state. Crown Imports and all of the Corona wholesalers across the state have committed 25 cents of every case of Corona Extra and Corona Light sold in August and 100 percent of the donations from paper lime purchases to the N.C. Cancer Hospital, which treats patients from all 100 North Carolina counties.
For more information, please visit: http://unclineberger.org/signature-events/calendar/corona-cares
About Crown Imports
Crown Imports LLC is a joint venture that imports, distributes and markets the Modelo portfolio and other fine beer brands across the entire U.S. The Modelo portfolio includes Corona Extra, the #1 imported beer in the U.S. and #6 beer overall, Corona Light, Modelo Especial, Negra Modelo, Pacifico and Victoria (select markets) beer brands. Crown also imports the Tsingtao beer in the U.S. For more information, visit www.crownimportsllc.com
Crown Imports is a 50-50 joint venture between Grupo Modelo, S.A. de C.V. (MX: GMODELOC), Mexico’s leading company in the brewing, distribution and sale of beer, and Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ), a leading international beverage alcohol producer, importer and marketer.
About the N.C. Cancer Hospital
The N.C. Cancer Hospital is the flagship site for UNC Cancer Care and the clinical home of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, where we are exerting an unprecedented effort to make strides against cancer and the suffering it causes is fueled by collaboration across the population, basic and clinical sciences. The N.C. Cancer Hospital and UNC Cancer Care are part of UNC Health Care.
The state’s only public cancer hospital, the construction of the 315,000 square foot facility was paid for through a $180 million authorization of funds from the N.C. General Assembly. The hospital, which was dedicated in September 2009, serves more than 30,000 patients annually.