ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Helps Focuses Relief Funds Locally in Response to COVID-19
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Helps is the community engagement initiative of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Corporation (ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Helps has reallocated a portion of its 2020 budget to support organizations in communities around the world that are arranging efforts to provide relief from this crisis.
To determine which local charities should receive funds, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Helps recently solicited input from employees at key ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ locations, including each of the portfolio businesses: CP Kelco, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Engineered Materials, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Engineered Woods.
Each site is encouraged to submit an application, which will be reviewed by the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Helps team. If appropriate, funds will be distributed directly to each local charity. The aim is to distribute all funds as quickly as possible to support the health, economic, or housing needs in communities around the world where ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ employees live and work. In the first week of the program, over 50% of the locations solicited submitted applications for funding.
“Ensuring our response is deployed directly to local charities in communities where ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ operates not only ensures we are helping those most in need but are involving our employees in the decision-making process. We believe this is a true reflection of our approach to community engagement and will more directly bring aid to those in need based on what our local employees identify as high priority issues,” says Don Young, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½’s Executive Vice President of Environment, Health, Safety & Sustainability, and the Executive Chair of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Helps Committee.
As part of its commitment to corporate social responsibility, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ has pledged to donate a percentage of the Company’s net operating income annually towards helping people and the planet.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Helps focuses its efforts in four areas: Environment, Sustainable Housing, Education / Wellness, and Humanitarian Relief. In addition to a global partnership and sponsorship of Habitat for Humanity International, matching gifts programs, and Impact Your Community funding for large scale, local legacy projects nominated by employees, the majority of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Helps activities are grassroots volunteerism and donation efforts by ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ employees around the world.