We provide our community partners with access to resources that enhance productivity and sustainability. The challenges of 2020—a global pandemic, racial injustice, social unrest—brought us even closer together as a company, strengthening our commitment to social responsibility.
In 2020, we provided $9 million in total giving in the following manner:
The heightened awareness of racial injustice that impacted our Black colleagues and communities throughout the year deepened our passion to remove barriers caused by systemic racism. One of our long-standing community partners, YWCA of Southeastern Wisconsin, has been a leader in promoting racial justice for decades with a bold mission of “eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.”
The demand for the YWCA’s transformational racial justice programming rose exponentially. To help meet this need, we significantly increased our long-standing support with a $25,000 grant. This critical programming educates and focuses on the advocacy and action we must take to achieve meaningful change and create an environment where Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and all people of color can thrive. Our grant builds on a past decade of partnership.
To address the digital divide that left students, families and schools without remote learning technology during the pandemic, we supported the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) #ConnectMilwaukee campaign to fund technical support and training for staff and teachers. And, as a founding member of the Milwaukee Tech Hub Coalition, we helped provide 100 iPads to MPS middle school students.
According to the MIND Research Institute/ST Math, one of our strategic STEM partners, COVID-related school closures could lead students to fall anywhere from 6 to 12 months behind academically. To help address this learning loss, ST Math offered a variety of free, web-based resources to families. Additionally, we provided 500 units of the South of the Sahara MathMINDs board game free to families served by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee (BGCGM) and 250 more to our partner MPS schools. The game, which we co-developed, combines math, history, and literacy in a highly interactive experience.
Each year, we recognize and reward employees who exemplify the best of the human spirit – serving others to create a better world. The Hometown Hero Award recognizes volunteers’ efforts to improve their immediate community.
Craig Hacche of Cypress, Cal. and his late wife Makena founded Answer Africa in 2006 to provide resources, including hundreds of thousands of mosquito nets, to reduce the spread of and ultimately eradicate Malaria. His latest project is to build a maternity center next to a new hospital near Makena’s African hometown.
