BROOMFIELD, Colo., March 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Building upon its 139-year legacy of corporate citizenship, Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) donated nearly $5.5 million and thousands of volunteer hours to non-profit organizations around the world in 2018 – centered on building sustainable communities through recycling, STEM education, food security, and disaster preparedness and relief initiatives.

Ball's monetary and in-kind donations to non-profits and volunteer hours grew in 2018 over the previous year. Collectively, The Ball Foundation, Ball Corporation and its employees supported more than 2,000 non-profit organizations around the world and logged more than 42,000 hours of volunteer service.

Ball's many community investments in 2018 were highlighted by:

• A global recycling program in which Ball employees help increase recycling rates, raise awareness about the benefits of recycling, and address global environmental concerns;
• A donation of a record 1.86 million meals to citizens facing hunger through Ball's "Let's Can Hunger" canned food drive in North America;
• Alleviating human suffering through global support of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and the American Red Cross. Ball provided funding that supported 300 relief efforts worldwide and helped build resilient communities, as well as donated millions of cans of water to disaster victims; and
• Inspiring the next generation of STEM career professionals through multiple preK – higher education initiatives, including mentoring programs and hands-on activities.  

"As a global leader, Ball embraces its responsibility of helping address the needs of our local communities," said Chris Chavez, director of global corporate citizenship and executive director of The Ball Foundation. "Helping sustain and build resilient communities is what Ball and our employees are all about. Our commitment to this work is unwavering."

The Ball Foundation continued its strategic focus on four funding pillars in 2018, investing nearly $1.5 million in community programs that make an impact in areas of recycling, disaster preparedness and relief, food security and STEM education in the U.S.

Globally, Ball continued to donate millions of cans of drinking water for disaster relief efforts. Outside of the U.S., Ball employees – located in more than 100 locations in 34 countries – donated thousands to many events and activities, such as recycling, food, and school supply drives, to benefit causes and charitable organizations in their local communities.

About The Ball Foundation
The Ball Foundation is a 501(c) (3) non-profit, private foundation. Founded in December 2010, the Ball Foundation's mission is to provide financial support to non-profit organizations that sustain communities where Ball operates by improving and promoting education, recycling and community engagement. For more information about The Ball Foundation, please visit www.ball.com/ball-foundation.

About Ball Corporation
Ball Corporation supplies innovative, sustainable packaging solutions for beverage, personal care and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ 17,500 people worldwide and reported 2018 sales of $11.6 billion. For more information, visit www.ball.com, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "targets," "likely," "positions" and similar expressions typically identify forward-looking statements, which are generally any statements other than statements of historical fact. Such statements are based on current expectations or views of the future and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied. You should therefore not place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements and any such statements should be read in conjunction with, and, qualified in their entirety by, the cautionary statements referenced below. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to be different are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99 in our Form 10-K, which are available on our website and at www.sec.gov. Additional factors that might affect: a) our packaging segments include product demand fluctuations; availability/cost of raw materials and logistics; competitive packaging, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; footprint adjustments and other manufacturing changes; failure to achieve synergies, productivity improvements or cost reductions; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; customer and supplier consolidation, power and supply chain influence; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or a loss of a major customer or supplier; political instability and sanctions; currency controls; changes in foreign exchange or tax rates, including due to the effects of the 2017 U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; and tariffs, trade actions, or other governmental actions in any country affecting goods produced by us or in our supply chain, including imported raw materials, such as pursuant to section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act of 1962; b) our aerospace segment include funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts; c) the company as a whole include those listed plus: changes in senior management; regulatory action or issues including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including U.S. FDA and other actions or public concerns affecting products filled in our containers, or chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; technological developments and innovations; litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; uncertainties surrounding geopolitical events and governmental policies both in the U.S. and in other countries, including the U.S. government elections, budget, sequestration and debt limit; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and successful or unsuccessful joint ventures, acquisitions and divestitures, including with respect to the Rexam PLC acquisition and its integration, or the associated divestiture; the effect of the acquisition or the divestiture on our business relationships, operating results and business generally.

SOURCE Ball Corporation