Hitachi Employees Collect Nearly 46,000 Pounds Of Food and More Than $80,000 During 11th Annual Summer Food Drive
Tarrytown, New York and WASHINGTON (August 25, 2010) – Some people will do anything for a good cause – at Hitachi Communication Technologies America this means wearing a clown suit in the office all day to help fight hunger. During the month of July, employees from Hitachi Group companies in the United States and Canada joined together for their 11th annual summer food drive. Using both creativity and friendly competition as strategies, Hitachi employees in 62 locations throughout North America collected a total of 45,810 pounds of food and $80,231.18 to donate to local community food banks and other organizations providing food assistance to the hungry.
“The drive provides Hitachi and its employees with the opportunity to address a critical global issue in a very local and meaningful way,” said Tadahiko Ishigaki, Chief Executive for the Americas, Hitachi, Ltd.
In many locations, employees divided into teams and competed against each other to collect the most food or money. Other locations also used the drive as a way to honor Hitachi’s 100th anniversary by organizing activities reflecting the company’s history and culture. Whether playing their own version of the World Cup or competing to bring in the most canned vegetables, Hitachi employees raised enough food and money to feed more than 27,474 people for a week during the month-long effort. In many locations, Hitachi employees also volunteered at local food banks to help sort and repackage the donated food.
“Given the fact that so many people are facing economic hardship, our employees were more determined than ever to make the drive a success, and they have accomplished this objective. We challenged our employees to increase the quantity of food or amount of money raised by 10% this year. In both categories, our employees far exceeded that goal. Our annual Food Drive is just one of the many programs Hitachi Group Companies support during the year. The effort underscores our commitment to help improve our society through local community outreach,” noted Ishigaki.
The summer months can be especially difficult for families facing hunger due to free and reduced-fee school lunches not being available, making the 11th annual Hitachi North American Food Drive all the more important. And that’s why, at Hitachi Communications Technologies America office in Texas, employees donated food and money as a way of “voting” for the executive who would have to wear a clown suit to work one day. At Hitachi America, Ltd. headquartered in Tarrytown, NY, employees were divided into four “World Cup” teams where employees ended their drive with a soccer shoot-out that raised pounds of food for the winning team.
In all, 55 teams of Hitachi employees from 62 locations across the United States and Canada took part in this year’s drive.
“When we look at the current statistics regarding food insecurity, 36 % of households served by agencies in the United States have at least one working person in the family” added Barbara Dyer, president and CEO of The Hitachi Foundation. “The working poor are one of the fastest growing groups of people accessing food banks for assistance in both the United States and Canada. This Food Drive makes a meaningful difference, both in the food and money that is collected for local communities and in the awareness it brings to the issue of hunger in our backyards.”
“Drives like the one done by Hitachi each year are very important,” said Christina Rohatynskyj, Executive Director of the Food Bank for Westchester, the organization receiving the food donation from Hitachi America, Ltd. in Tarrytown, NY. “We have fewer donations coming in during the summer. At the same time we are experiencing an increase in the need for our services.”
The annual food drive is a joint initiative between the Hitachi Group companies across North America and The Hitachi Foundation. It was inspired by the Hitachi Community Action Partnership (HCAP), Hitachi’s comprehensive program for employee community engagement.