Charitable Giving and Volunteerism

More than 600 employees at Dow’s Louisiana Operations spent about 20,000 hours volunteering their time last year to assist with some 40 different activities that benefited area communities. Also in 2002, Dow Louisiana Operations and its employees gave $1.3 million in contributions and donations to charities, including the Capital Area United Way campaign.

Dow volunteers are actively involved in Habitat for Humanity, a program through which partner families are able to realize the American dream of owning a home. Here, Dow employee Ray Holland helps new homeowner Nikki Fobb raise the American flag for her new home.

In the area of education, more than 7,500 individuals were reached in area communities through activities like Back to School, Comeback Kids recognition, Hands-on Science Curriculum, Science is pHun, Junior Achievement, student and teacher job shadowing, student mentoring, scholarships, ChemPals, science fairs and Dow plant tours.

Other volunteer efforts included: providing toys for 800 needy children in Iberville and West Baton Rouge parishes through the annual Dow/MCA toy drive; collecting 9,185 pounds of food for area food banks; participating in the March of Dimes WalkAmerica; American Cancer Society Relay for Life; United Way Campaign; collecting waste materials during Household Hazardous Waste Day; visiting 1,400 neighbors to provide emergency information; Habitat for Humanity; and contributing to the area blood bank.

According to Louisiana Operations Site Director Earl Shipp, “Employee volunteers are the heart of our community outreach efforts. Our employees and contract employees have gone the extra mile to give their time and talents to help our communities, and I encourage them to continue to do so.”