American businesses, both big and small, are pitching in to help the many communities and residents decimated by Superstorm Sandy, according to USA Today.
Beer baron Anheuser-Busch has switched a line at its Carterville, Ga., plant from beer to water, producing more than a million portions of drinking water for the millions without even the most basic staple — potable drinking water.
It sent truckloads of that emergency water to disaster recovery areas in West Virginia, New York and New Jersey.
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"It's good business and it's good to give back to the community," Margarita Flores, vice president of community affairs, told USA Today.
Procter & Gamble’s Battery-producing giant Duracell is offering residents in the affected areas electricity and batteries. The Connecticut-based company sent out Rapid Responder four-by-four trucks into Battery Park in New York City, site of one the worst areas affected in the northeast after Sandy’s fury hit, Business Insider reported.
The trucks are equipped with phone-charging stations and computers with Internet access so those without power could reach out to friends, family and colleagues by email and social media.
After leaving lower Manhattan, the small armada has driven up and down streets in New York and New Jersey offering the service to others.
P&G also rolled out a Tide Loads of Hope truck, providing laundry washers and dryers to residents and first responders in Eatontown, N.J., USA Today reported, where more than 300 loads of laundry were collected and washed in the first two hours alone.
Cable company Comcast is offering free wifi to anyone in the affected areas with a smart phone or wifi-enabled device. The company opened up its public hotspots in affected communities, according to Business Insider. The free service runs through Wednesday.
Many gyms are allowing residents of their communities to come in and shower, get some hot coffee and charge devices for free.
Small Manhattan dessert stalwart Chloe's Soft Serve Fruit Co. shared free hot apple cider with storm victims.
"It was a no brainer in terms of offering help," said Chloe's co-founder, Chloe Epstein. "We just had to put our heads together to figure out the quickest, most effective way to have an impact in even a small way."
Editor's Note: How You Lost $85,000 During the Last Decade. See the Numbers.
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