At Kimberly-Clark, we care about the communities where our
employees live and work. Providing the essentials for a better life
means more than providing innovative products; it also means giving
back to our communities. Throughout the year, employees from
Kimberly-Clark facilities around the world experience the joy of
giving by participating in volunteer activities with local
nonprofit organizations. Here are a few examples of employee
volunteer efforts around the world in 2012:
Europe
In October, about 20 Kimberly-Clark Europe employees
participated in the European Leadership Challenge - a program
designed to help participants develop their leadership skills while
making a difference with a worthy cause.
All participants took part in a four-day leadership course, then
returned to their home countries (including the UK, France,
Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Italy and Spain) and organized local
fundraising initiatives for the beneficiaries of the program. The
2012 goal was to raise £30,000; thanks to the hard work of
Kimberly-Clark Europe employees and the support of their friends
and families, participants shot past that goal and raised £51,000
in just four months!
Then, through the Imbumba Foundation, the group took a five-day
trip to help out the Wombane Community in Kwazulu Natal, South
Africa. The Imbumba Foundation is a small charity that brings
volunteers to South African villages to undertake much-needed
special projects. While there, they spent time with the natives,
especially the children. The original £30,000 they raised was used
to build a crèche (day care center/nursery) in a very poor, rural
area. The Kimberly-Clark team arrived just in time to help finish
the building with paint and then participated in the ceremony to
officially turn the building over to the community. The extra
£21,000 was used to fund other projects, including toilet
facilities in the local school, football fields, and a 12-month
ecopreneur program, which teaches people to use green issues as a
competitive advantage for their enterprise. See
video highlights from the trip and interviews with
employees.
China
Kimberly-Clark China has a history of being engaged in
environmental protection and encourages employees to participate in
energy-saving and environmentally-friendly activities. Every year
the administrative office and mills of Kimberly-Clark China ask
employees and their family members to participate in community
tree-planting activities. Kimberly-Clark China sponsors the
environmental protection of forests in all areas of operation
there, including Huairou District and Mentougou District in
Beijing, Xixia Mountain and Jiangjun Mountain in Nanjing, and
Songjiang District in Shanghai.
Roswell, Georgia, USA
For the past several years, Kimberly-Clark employees in Roswell,
Georgia, have volunteered their support for EarthShare of Georgia's
Corporate Green Day Challenge. In April, in recognition of Earth
Day, about 30 members of the Roswell campus Sustainability
Community Practice and Kimberly-Clark Professional's Green Patrol
spent a Saturday morning clearing trails in a heavily-wooded site
at Kittredge Park in Atlanta, Georgia. In a few hours, they had
converted the area into a clear hiking path lined with logs and
spread with mulch.
"We worked with many volunteer groups in the past and have seen
none more energetic and hard-working than the folks from
Kimberly-Clark," says Bill Lide with Friends of Kittredge Park.
"With your help, we were able to accomplish much more than we had
originally set out to do. It was a great reflection upon your
company and its people."
Vietnam
Kimberly-Clark Vietnam employees participate in Days of Caring
events across the country twice a year. This particular group of
employees enjoys spending time with orphaned children, many of whom
have disabilities.
During the visits, employees had many special moments with the
kids through art activities, singing and dancing, playing, reading
stories and helping during meal time. The employees of
Kimberly-Clark Vietnam also personally donated toys, clothes and
other essential items to the children. Kimberly-Clark Vietnam also
donates much-needed Huggies and Kotex products to the
orphanages.
"I am proud to be a member of the Kimberly-Clark Vietnam team,"
says Managing Director Kate Goodman. "Everyone eagerly participates
in our Days of Caring and has a strong desire to give back to the
local community. Our visits to local orphanages are a special time
for all of us. The biggest gift we give the children is personal
time, love and attention. The gifts we get back in return from the
children are simply amazing - the smiles we see, the hugs we get -
are the best rewards ever! I cannot wait for our next Day of Caring
later in the year."
Dallas, Texas, USA
In September, about 120 Kimberly-Clark World Headquarters
employees and family members spent several hours on a Saturday
helping make the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas' annual
Day for Kids a success.
About 2,000 Boys & Girls Clubs members, ages 5 to 15, spent
the day at an amusement park, riding rides, watching entertainment,
playing video games and laser tag, and rock climbing. The
purpose of the day is just for the kids to get outside and have
some fun. Kimberly-Clark provided volunteers to escort children
around the park, operate rides, serve lunch and paint faces. It was
the first major event for the office's annual United Way
campaign.
The following month, Kimberly-Clark volunteers hosted a
Halloween party for about 65 children from three area Boys &
Girls Clubs at our World Headquarters. Employees dressed up in
costumes, decorated the building for the holiday and hosted a
variety of fun activities for the kids, including
trick-or-treating, playing games, getting faces painted and touring
the "SpooK-C House." They left with bags full of treats and smiles
on their decorated faces.
Australia
In September, almost 250 callers from across Kimberly-Clark
Australia participated in Essentially Yours Day "chat and learn"
sessions on topics including nappy (diaper) composting, carbon tax,
essentials in times of need and e-waste recycling. The 45-minute
sessions were hosted using interactive teleconference/online
technology, allowing employees from across Kimberly-Clark Australia
to participate in any session they wanted.
One of the topics was "Essentials in Times of Need," during
which a local food bank CEO thanked Kimberly-Clark Australia for
its on-going support and discussed how important our donations are
during times of crisis. The session included a donation drive,
whereby callers were encouraged to donate non-perishable food and
clothing to benefit the American Red Cross. In addition, about 300
employees took advantage of the company's offer to take one day off
during the year to volunteer in the community.
Belmont, Michigan, USA
Employees at Kimberly-Clark's Belmont, Michigan, mill spent
quite a bit of time last year volunteering at fishing tournaments
for residents at a nearby veterans' facility, helping bait, cast
and reel in fish for the veterans, and then staying for a
post-tournament fish fry. The employees have volunteered for
other events for the veterans' home as well, including serving as
dealers for the home's Las Vegas Night.
Belmont employees also volunteer for Streetlight Ministries
where they serve meals to those in need in the Grand Rapids area,
and the annual Stuff the Bus drive to collect school supplies for
needy children. Kimberly-Clark employees filled large yellow totes
with items school students need for a successful school year.
Brazil
In preparation for the Christmas holidays, Kimberly-Clark
employees in Brazil annually participate in Todos por Um (All for
One), an event where employees bring food and gifts for needy
children who are served by two of the area's children's charities.
Once the gifts and food are collected and organized, employees
deliver the items to the children and spend the day with
them.
Malaysia
In conjunction with a series of festive seasons, employees from
the Kluang Mill in Malaysia were involved in a variety of
volunteer activities in 2012. To celebrate Chinese New Year, a
group of volunteers from the mill visited three homes for special
needs children and the elderly to throw them parties complete with
food, cookies and beverages, and to bring Kimberly-Clark products
for them to use at their facilities.
In September, another group of employees from Kimberly-Clark
Products Malaysia (KCPM) took 61 orphans to a movie and then
treated them to lunch at their orphanage home to celebrate the
Muslim new year, "Hari Raya Aidilfitri." Then in November, KCPM
employees, led by Mill Manager Lau Wen Pin, reached out to 20
underprivileged families with a donation of food, beverages and
Kleenex and Scott brand products to bring some holiday spirit
during Deepavali, a festival of lights celebrated by Hindus in
Malaysia.
Corinth, Mississippi, USA
Last spring, employees in Corinth, Mississippi, participated in
the Great American Cleanup program, orchestrated annually by Keep
America Beautiful.
"There are very few community projects that everyone can get
involved with … but this is one!," says Debbie Ward, local
chairperson of Keep Corinth-Alcorn Beautiful and HR systems
coordinator at the Corinth Nonwovens plant who organized
Kimberly-Clark's participation in the event. "We are very proud to
be counted as one of the participating groups. This is our third
consecutive year to support the Great American Cleanup, and each
year our turnout has increased."
The Kimberly-Clark group was part of 817 volunteers
community-wide, who put in about 2,100 volunteer hours picking up
about 12,000 pounds of litter on a 3.5-mile stretch of road that
provides access to the two main Kimberly-Clark entrances.
Volunteers don their safety apparel (fluorescent vests, gloves and
grabbers), and pick up trash along the road.
Neenah, Wisconsin, USA
In spring, Kimberly-Clark's Corporate Research & Engineering
Environmental Sustainable Technology team completed two much-needed
service projects at Wisconsin's High Cliff State Park on the east
shore of Lake Winnebago.
Looking for a way to serve the local community, Kimberly-Clark
contacted the park staff and found them in need of some volunteer
labor to help with various projects around the park.
First, the Kimberly-Clark team worked together to clear the
woods and trails of fast-growing weeds that run rampant in the area
and threaten to take over the forest floor's native vegetation.
Several weeks later, the team returned to clear more trails for
hikers and horseback riders.
"Everyone really enjoyed the days, feeling highly satisfied with
both our community contributions and team building results," says
Mark Mleziva, research senior manager.
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