Ralphs Grocery Company stepped forward with a $10,000 donation to the Mira Costa High School music department to help with costs for the replacement of the band's four tubas stolen from the school on Jan. 3.
With students gathered for the lunchtime Winter Sports Pep Rally, Principal Ben Dale announced the generous contribution by the local Ralphs supermarket to a surprised and appreciative audience. The $10,000 will help defray the $20,000 to $24,000 cost to replace the four King sousaphone tubas that were stolen from a storage closet in the band hall.
Students celebrated the gift with music, dance and a donut eating contest during the pep rally.
“We heard about the theft and saw that Mira Costa High was in need,” said Donna Giordano, president of Ralphs, in a press release. “Ralphs has a history of supporting school bands and music programs in the community. With our history of giving, we felt that we should step in and help the Mira Costa High marching band replace its stolen instruments.”
Gretchen Renshaw, president of the Mira Costa High band boosters, said, “We were so happy to hear that Ralphs wanted to help out. Mira Costa High School and the marching band will be forever grateful to the generosity of Ralphs.”
Ralphs Grocery Company was founded in 1873 and currently operates 246 supermarkets from its headquarters in Los Angeles. Last year, Ralphs contributed more than $6 million to support education, hunger relief, women’s health and local nonprofit organizations in the communities served by the company’s stores. Ralphs is a subsidiary of The Kroger Co., (NYSE:KR), one of the nation’s largest food retailers, based in Cincinnati, Ohio.
