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Corporate partner Kathleen Bader, CEO of Cargill Dow, joined Habitat founder Millard Fuller and thousands of volunteers at the Jimmy Carter Work Project 2002 in South Africa.
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Behind the Scenes:
Countless supporters around the world share Habitat for Humanity's concern for families living in deplorable conditions. Their support arrives in a variety of ways, from $10 checks and grassroots volunteerism to Global Village work teams and in-kind donations of building materials. Every ounce of contribution is needed in order for Habitat to fulfill its mission of eliminating substandard housing.
Corporate partners deliver their own brand of support through cash donations, volunteer hours, in-kind gifts or a combination of all three. Corporations get involved with Habitat for Humanity International on a variety of levels and for a number of reasons, chief among them to demonstrate responsible corporate citizenship and to help families in need of a better place to live.
The Dow Chemical Company is a longtime partner, donating styrofoam brand insulation, other products and dollars since the mid-1980s. Its involvement, however, goes far beyond the tangible donations, according to Kathleen Bader, CEO of Cargill Dow. "There is nothing more essential to a good life than a good home," she says. "The beauty for Dow is that Habitat offers us the chance to give something back to the community. We understand the good that will come from Dow's gift, but we also recognize the rewards everyone at Dow will receive knowing they've helped someone else."
Bank of America is another donor that has committed resources to Habitat for Humanity. Hugh McColl, former Bank of America chairman and CEO, has worked on Habitat build sites and is quick to recognize the true value in Habitat involvement.
He sees that homeownership promotes independence, confidence, self-worth, stability and community involvement.
"These are the real reasons we do what we do, but we do not need to think hard about [our partnership with Habitat] to know we're doing the right thing," McColl says. "We can see the value of our work--we can feel it--by shaking the hand of a proud father who can't wait to tuck his kids into their own beds in their own room in their own home. And we feel it when we look in the eyes of a loving mother who has new hope for her family's future."
More than 70 corporations support HFHI's efforts at the $100,000-plus level, contributing more than $40 million in 2003. When combined with much-needed gifts from so many individual donors around the world, corporate partners help fuel Habitat's work to build more houses with more families in more corners of the world.
To learn more about corporate partnerships, contact Corporate Programs at (800) 422-4828, Ext. 2762, or corppgms@hfhi.org.
