UP provides donation to Kansas National Guard

Union Pacific Railroad last month donated $15,000 to the Kansas National Guard's Military Emergency Relief Fund.

The fund provides emergency financial aid to help military families with the cost of food, housing, utilities and medical services incurred while a family member is on active military duty. The relief program also is available to assist members of the military reserve forces in Kansas.

UP's donation will go a long way toward helping members of the guard's extended military family who might be struggling financially, said Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli in a press release.

UP consistently has been rated one of the top military-friendly corporations in the nation, Tafanelli noted. G.I. Jobs magazine has named the railroad a top military friendly employer 12 times and Military Times ranked the Class I fifth in its 2014 list of "Best for Vets" Employers. In addition, the railroad is a member of the Army Reserve's Employee Partnership Initiative, which supports the Army Partnership for Youth Success program.

"Union Pacific recognizes and values what the Kansas National Guard relief fund means to those that serve in the military and their families," said Ben Jones, UP's director of public affairs for Kansas and Missouri. "It's important that we do our part to support groups such the Kansas National Guard relief fund as they continue to positively impact Kansas cities and towns where many of our employees live and work."