HanesBrands Supports a Sports Clinics Program for San Juan Opico, El Salvador, Students
Working with the local city government and Glasswing International, Hanes continues to implement initiatives that promote values and well-being among youth attending schools near its Salvadoran facilities
EL SALVADOR, San Salvador, April 24, 2013 /3BL Media/ - Hanes today provided the first of a series of sports clinics for students attending two schools in areas surrounding its plants. This initiative is the result of an agreement subscribed by the company, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Glasswing International, that focuses on helping to prevent violence through corporate volunteering in the educational system that serves the city of San Juan de Opico, La Libertad.
The company has already involved its local employees to successfully achieve other educational initiatives, and in this case, students will have the chance to meet with the players of the Club Deportivo Juventud Independiente, San Juan de Opico‟s first division soccer team.
"We believe that the Juventud Independiente team is a model for San Andrés Valley area, therefore the 70 students participating in our extracurricular clubs at the Cantón Lomas de Santiago and El Caserío Las Flores schools will benefit and be motivated by this experience," said Teddy Mendoza, environmental and CSR manager at HanesBrands.
During the sports clinics, the Juventud Independiente players focused on explaining to the youth the importance of maintaining and promoting key values such as teamwork, solidarity, discipline, and the search for excellence to be able to succeed in all aspects of their lives, both personal and professional. The clinic took place at the San Juan Opico Municipal Sports Complex, headquarters of the first division soccer team.
"Sports provide an ideal context for developing leadership and self-esteem among youth, and it‟s a great way of keeping youth away from vices and other bad influences. These clinics motivate both the players and the students of San Juan de Opico to move on in positive ways," said Juan Ramón Sánchez Paredes, the team‟s head coach.
In order to motivate students and to benefit the communities where the company has operations, Hanes also manages its own corporate volunteer program covering various different initiatives supporting public education in the La Libertad and La Paz counties. More than 125 volunteers from its six plants are involved in the program. The employees donate their lunch hour to be able to attend the schools and provide training and mentoring to the youth through various extra-curricular clubs that operate during after-school hours, including soccer, chess, public speaking, a science club and a glee club. The program has also supported these schools by providing materials and the employee volunteers needed to execute extensive infrastructure improvements to their facilities.
As a result of this program, more than 2,000 students stay busy spending more time at school participating in activities where they are exposed to new experiences and new ways of learning, thus contributing to lowering dropout rates and enhancing the students‟ learning experience and values.
During the first clinic, Romeo Barillas, mayor of the City of San Juan Opico and President of the Juventud Independiente team, expressed the importance of these types of initiatives for the city.
"We believe that these collaborations between the community, the local government and private sector companies allow us to improve the city‟s quality of life by opening new spaces and opportunities for participation that are accessible to all of us", he said.
The funds needed to support these types of initiatives are obtained from the local Viviendo Verde (Green for Good) program, part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program at Hanes. Viviendo Verde generates proceeds by recycling materials from the manufacturing processes in all six plants to fund local community development in areas surrounding the company‟s plants.
Hanes has operated in El Salvador for 21 years, a period in which the company has generated more than 9,500 jobs throughout its 6 production plants, and invested $200 million in production and facility improvements, employee training, and in developing eco-friendly production systems and operations.
About Hanesbrands Inc.
HanesBrands is a socially responsible leading marketer of everyday basic apparel under some of the world’s strongest apparel brands, including Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, JMS/Just My Size, barely there, Wonderbra and Gear for Sports. The company sells T-shirts, bras, panties, men’s underwear, children’s underwear, socks, hosiery, casualwear and activewear produced in the company’s low-cost global supply chain. Ranked No. 512 on the Fortune 1000 list, Hanes has approximately 51,500 employees in more than 25 countries and takes pride in its strong reputation for ethical business practices. Hanes is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star 2013 and 2012 Sustained Excellence Award winner and 2010 and 2011 Partner of the Year. The company ranks No. 141 on Newsweek magazine’s list of Top 500 greenest U.S. companies. More information about the company and its corporate social responsibility initiatives, including environmental, social compliance and community improvement achievements, may be found on the Hanes corporate website at www.HanesBrands.com.
