ST. LOUIS, Feb. 25, 2019 — The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation – the philanthropic arm of Enterprise Rent-A-Car – is pledging $2 million to fund 40 community tree-planting events in neighborhoods across the United States. The program, called the Enterprise Urban Tree Initiative, was kicked off in fall 2018 and will continue throughout spring 2020. This initiative is in addition to the 50 Million Tree Pledge, Enterprise’s ongoing partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation.
The Enterprise Urban Tree Initiative invests in cities that have been devastated by hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, floods, hailstorms and other natural disasters. Each project is selected to prioritize immediate reforestation needs and to help restore damaged ecosystems.
“In 2018, we reinforced our partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation and reaffirmed our commitment to strengthening the communities where we do business,” said Carolyn Kindle Betz, President of the Enterprise Holdings Foundation. “Our neighborhood network is the foundation of our success, and the Enterprise Urban Tree Initiative complements the critical role our business plays in aiding disaster recovery efforts.”
The strength and reach of the Enterprise neighborhood network uniquely position Enterprise to meet the demands of government agencies, insurance companies and collision repair centers when disaster recovery is priority No. 1. The company is always prepared to respond and move vehicles into affected areas as quickly and seamlessly as possible. Each regional Enterprise Holdings subsidiary has an Emergency Action Plan to ensure each branch office makes the right number and types of vehicles available during disaster recovery.
In 2018, more than 3,000 trees were planted or distributed at eight community tree-planting events staffed by local Enterprise employees, including the distribution of more than 1,000 trees at Kendall Soccer Park in Miami. Miami-Dade County’s tree canopy took a tremendous hit in 2017, losing 30 percent of its trees to Hurricane Irma. Enterprise employees worked with Million Trees Miami to help restore and grow a more wind-resistant tree inventory at the park. Last year, Enterprise employees also partnered with Trees for Houston to plant more than 50 trees at Pin Oak Middle School. The school lost much of its tree canopy to multiple natural disasters, including Hurricane Harvey.
Other events took place in Atlanta, Cleveland, Delray Beach, Fla., Detroit, Jacksonville, Fla., and Philadelphia.
This spring, Enterprise will fund 12 additional tree-planting events in Baton Rouge, La., Charlotte, N.C., Chicago, Denver, Easton, Pa., Louisville, Ky., Minneapolis, Oahu, Hawaii, Portland, Ore., St. Louis, Salt Lake City, and the U.K.