WINSTON SALEM, N.C., March 4, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HanesBrands announced today that the company and its employees raised $2.2 million for the United Way of Forsyth County as part of another award-winning employee campaign in 2013.
Hanes and its employees represent the largest corporate giver to the United Way chapter and have given more than $34 million since 1999 to help fund an array of social services to families and individuals in need in Forsyth County.
"Our employees are truly amazing, and are incredibly unselfish with their time and donations to help the United Way," said Rick Elmore, HanesBrands vice president, global supply chain support, and 2013 company campaign chairperson. "More than half of our headquarters employees pledged to support the campaign, and as a result of their generosity United Way of Forsyth County will continue to be able to achieve its mission of effectively addressing our community's most vital human needs."
As part of the company's campaign, employees also donated 140,000 meals to Crisis Control and Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest N.C., one of United Way's 32 partner agencies, and Hanes granted paid time off to more than 400 headquarters employees to volunteer for a Day of Caring at 10 local community agencies. This record-number of employee volunteers contributed thousands of volunteer hours performing various tasks at the agencies including landscaping, painting, administrative duties, and more.
During the weeklong campaign, activities held on campus included a kickoff celebration, silent auctions, and an agency fair that provided employees an opportunity to learn about the various local non-profit agencies in attendance.
Hanes executives also served as the campaign leaders for the overall 2013 community campaign of the United Way of Forsyth County. Co-chairs Richard A. Noll, chairman and chief executive officer of Hanes, and Mike Ernst, retiring president of Hanes' direct-to-consumer business segment, led the campaign that generated $17.35 million, beating its goal by $25,000.
"HanesBrands has been an outstanding partner to the United Way over the years and especially this year, as they loaned us two of their top executives, Rich Noll and Mike Ernst, to chair the campaign and made a special gift on top of the wonderful campaign they ran this year," said Cindy Gordineer, president and CEO of United Way of Forsyth County. "Hanes is a seven-time winner of the United Way of North Carolina Spirit Award for Campaign Excellence, and the company exemplifies the spirit of generosity in our community and we are so appreciative of their support."
The United Way of North Carolina awarded Hanes with its 2013 Spirit of North Carolina Award for campaign excellence and for having the best business campaign of any North Carolina company with 2,501 to 5,000 employees. This is the company's seventh Spirit award. The United Way of Forsyth County honored Hanes and its employees with the "Decade of Excellence" award in 2011, recognizing the company's commitment to community volunteerism and financial support.
HanesBrands
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, Maidenform, Flexees, JMS/Just My Size, barely there, Wonderbra and Gear for Sports. The company sells T-shirts, bras, panties, shapewear, men's underwear, children's underwear, socks, hosiery, and activewear produced in the company's low-cost global supply chain. Ranked No. 512 on the Fortune 1000 list, Hanes has approximately 49,700 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 at www.Hanes.com/corporate.