Greensburg: Rebuilding a Community

In 2007, a deadly tornado struck the town of Greensburg, Kansas, destroying 95% of the town. Now, with Frito-Lay's help, it's being rebuilt from the ground up as one of the greenest towns in America.

The tornado didn't only destroy homes, it also ruined livelihoods. Frito-Lay and SunChips® wanted to help, and what better way than to give Greensburg residents the business they needed to get back on their feet and build a new, greener community?

As featured in Leonardo DiCaprio's television series Greensburg, aired on Planet Green, Frito-Lay and SunChips® donated $1 million to support the building of a solar-powered business incubator, which will house ten local businesses and provide the foundation for a new economy for the people of Greensburg.

"To know that my company is having a big hand in helping the town of Greensburg rebuild makes me feel good" – Doug Ulrich, Frito-Lay Employee.

As part of the "re-greening" of Greensburg, Frito-Lay and SunChips® also made one dollar donations for tree replanting every time a supporter added a SunChips® and Greensburg widget to their Facebook profile, adding up to over $22,000 so far. That's a lot of trees.

Frito-Lay Route Sales Representative Doug Ulrich is one of 1,500 Greensburg residents who lost their homes in the tornado. Alongside its donation to the Greensburg community as a whole, Frito-Lay also contributed to the building of a new, greener house for Doug and his family. "It's really nice to know that the company I work for is willing to invest the time and money to see that this town rebuilds in a way to become even better than it was before," says Doug. "It's amazing to see the kind of progress that will come out of such a disaster."