Southwire 2021 Sustainability Report: Community Engagement and Volunteerism
Southwire 2021 Sustainability Report
Our engagement focus creates value for Southwire through initiatives helping to build thriving and prosperous communities with talented future employees. Our goal is to enable a future based on action, engagement and the facilitation of meaningful dialogue around issues that matter to the communities in which we live and operate.
Our Giving Back programs help us achieve our engagement and volunteering goals by providing support through community-based partnerships, donated goods and services, and employee-led programs and efforts that include skill-based volunteering. In addition, Southwire and our employees provide financial support and hands-on assistance to individuals and entire communities affected by natural disasters and emergencies.
APPROACH
Shared value is the core of Southwire’s Giving Back program. We create shared value through our long-term commitments to customers and the communities where we live and operate. In addition, our culture of Giving Back supports shared value by leveraging Southwire resources and expertise to create positive social impacts through f inancial contributions, grant programs and volunteering.
To create shared community value, we focus our efforts on understanding the needs of our communities and engaging them with supportive measures that:
- Educate and develop long-term skills
- Inspire and build health through volunteering
- Revive and rebuild through disaster relief
- Brighten and support lives through charitable giving
- Protect and sustain the environment
Southwire’s Communications and Giving Back teams are responsible for community engagement and philanthropy efforts including Project GIFT® and the POWER Fund, organized under the legally recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit Southwire CARES, Inc.
SOUTHWIRE CARES, INC.
Since 2004, Southwire CARES, Inc. has overseen all of our not-for-profit initiatives. Southwire CARES, Inc. is governed by a board of directors, which is made up of company leaders across our operations, including communications, manufacturing and distribution, corporate tax, and Giving Back management. Southwire CARES oversees our Project GIFT® program, as well as the POWER Fund.
POWER FUND
The Southwire POWER Fund, Inc., (Providing Others with Emergency Relief) provides short-term, emergency assistance to US-based employees and their immediate families who encounter hardship. The Fund offers both catastrophic grants and employee matching grants. Any employees of Southwire or its subsidiaries are eligible to receive a grant, as long as he or she meets the various requirements set forth by the Southwire CARES Board of Directors/Officers.
PROJECT GIFT®
Southwire’s Project GIFT® volunteer program leads all service-related initiatives and volunteering, partnering with organizations including Feeding America, Toys for Tots, Water Mission, Keep America Beautiful, Habitat for Humanity, and the American Cancer Society.
Project GIFT® Inspiration for Tomorrow efforts in 2021 included:
2021 Highlights
Supporting Education: Southwire hosted its 17th annual Back to School giveaway, distributing more than 30,000 bags of free school supplies to children in need across all of Southwire's Giving Back communities. Distribution events included a drive-thru style event in some areas where community members could safely remain in their vehicles as volunteers loaded supplies into trunks to ensure contactless delivery, as well as direct-to-school distribution days in partnership with local school districts and counselors.
Supporting and Inspiring Health: Southwire expanded its commitment to COVID-19 relief by committing an additional $500,000 focused in the areas of hunger and education. Additionally, Project GIFT® volunteers participated in virtual volunteerism by providing electronic cards of encouragement to patients at St. Jude and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and hosting a virtual concert to connect with elderly community members living in local nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
Supporting Disaster Relief: Project GIFT® teams hosted donation events in West Georgia, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois to support disaster relief efforts for tornadoes in Kentucky and surrounding states. These events collected seven tractor-trailers filled with much-needed relief items and Christmas gifts, and nearly $30,000 in monetary contributions to further the relief effort. The generosity of Southwire employees, community members, volunteers, and local partners helped make our disaster relief effort a success.
Donations and Giving: Southwire's Project GIFT® program hosted multiple collection and fundraising events, including virtual events, in-person gatherings, 5Ks benefitting several organizations, lunch-and-learns organized by several charity partners and more. Events included our annual Project GIFT® two-day toy collection drive, where volunteers collected over 6,500 toys for children and families in need during the holidays.
PERFORMANCE
In 2021, Southwire partnered with Blackbaud to help track and manage charitable donations and employee volunteerism more efficiently through the online platform, YourCause. In addition to tracking hours, the platform allows employees to view and sign up for volunteer activities, and it allows Southwire to develop and host a trackable online application for charitable donation requests.
Southwire is committed to giving back. In 2021, despite in-person activities being affected by the ongoing pandemic, our employees found creative ways to give back safely through more than 5,000 hours of combined virtual and socially distanced volunteering.
In addition to volunteerism efforts, Southwire donated approximately $200,000 to over 20 sustainability-related organizations and causes in 2021. Supported initiatives include the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance Proctor Creek Trash Trap Network Education Project, as well as a sponsorship of four e-recycling events supporting electronic waste reduction. We also provided a matching donation to The Ray for Georgia Gives Day to support modernizing the energy grid, boosting renewable energy generation and developing transportation electrification.
In light of the challenges posed by the pandemic, we adjusted the deadline for establishing electronics recycling programs in 100% of the communities where we operate to 2023.
