Strong participation reflects commitment to community support across Coastal Georgia

SAVANNAH, Ga., May 26, 2026 – The Georgia Ports Authority and its employees have pledged a total of $661,000 to United Way of the Coastal Empire to support its work improving the lives of individuals and families across a five-county region.

“Every gift to United Way’s Community Fund helps provide essential resources and services that create stability and opportunity for families across the Coastal Empire,” said Kimberly Waller. “We are deeply grateful to the Georgia Ports Authority and its employees for their longstanding generosity and commitment to improving lives throughout our region.”

“Community is one of our core values, and this campaign demonstrates how our employees put that value into action,” said GPA President and CEO Griff Lynch. “In a time when many local families are facing economic challenges, these contributions help ensure vital services remain available across the region.”

Funds raised support United Way of the Coastal Empire, whose community fund invests in more than 80 programs delivered by over 50 agencies in the greater Savannah area. These initiatives provide critical services such as housing, healthcare, food assistance, childcare, workforce development, financial education, and crisis intervention. United Way programs play a broad role in the region, with roughly one in three residents benefiting either directly or indirectly from supported services.

GPA’s partnership with United Way dates back decades, with records showing employee campaigns as early as 1977. Port officials said the continued growth in giving reflects both employee engagement and the organization’s commitment to strengthening the communities it serves.

ABOUT GEORGIA PORTS

Georgia’s Ports in Savannah and Brunswick are strategic gateways, creating the most competitive supply chains in the nation with their level of operations, connectivity and supply chain ecosystem. These attributes combined with Georgia’s ranking as the top state to do business for 12 consecutive years create a strong business model for growth. The Port of Savannah is one of the best-connected ports in the U.S. to world markets with 40 ship calls a week, 42 doublestack trains per week and 14,000 truck gate moves daily. The Port of Brunswick is the number 1 ranked U.S. RoRo port by annual volumes for autos and has an increasing amount of machinery cargoes with its expanded high and heavy cargo operating space.  GPA has a self-financed investment plan of nearly $5 billion for the next ten years which will see five new big ship container berths added in Savannah (the most new berths of any U.S. container port) and a fourth RoRo berth in Brunswick to meet future growth. In the past decade, GPA has invested $3.2 billion in infrastructure improvements. As part of GPA’s community engagement efforts, $6 million is being donated to port communities to support a multi-year, local workforce housing initiative, helping 178 families repair, buy or build a home in the Savannah area since its start in September 2023. For further information, visit gaports.com or contact Edward Fulford, Manager of Media Relations at [email protected]  912-964-3806.