At Newell Brands, we strive to make a difference in our communities locally and globally. We recently spotlighted efforts made by the company, the Newell Brands Charitable Foundation, our employees and the nonprofits we support through our 12 Days of Giving series, where we reflected on our accomplishments in 2023 and the impact made through both monetary and product donations.
On Day 1, in honor of GivingTuesday, we launched our 2023-2024 Matching Gift Program. This program allows Newell employees globally to have their donations to Save the Children and No Kid Hungry matched dollar for dollar up to a pre-determined limit.
Day 2 highlighted a donation that helped teachers near our Huntersville, NC, U.S., location prepare their classrooms for the school year. Our Learning & Development Segment donated 230 DYMO® label makers and 800,000 Paper Mate® pencils to Classroom Central in honor of the back-to-school season. The label makers were “a huge hit” with the teachers, helping them prepare their classrooms for a busy school year and ease financial strain, while the pencils equipped children in need with supplies to support their education.
Our Home & Commercial Segment’s donation of over 26,000 Sistema® water bottles and food storage containers to Plunket’s B4 School Checks Program was the focus of Day 3. Plunket is an organization in New Zealand dedicated to supporting children under five and their families during crucial stages of development. The B4 School Check is a fun and comprehensive assessment of a child's language, development, growth, behavior, social & emotional development and oral health. The products helped children better prepare for their first school days and supported their parents and caregivers through the new chapter.
On Day 4, we highlighted our Outdoor & Recreation Segment’s donation of over 300,000 Contigo® and Bubba® tumblers and water bottles and Coleman® sleeping bags and tents to Empty Stocking Fund (ESF), an Atlanta, GA, U.S.-based Newell Brands and Newell Brands Charitable Foundation partner. ESF supports disadvantaged children by providing toys and gifts during the holiday season. But it doesn’t stop there. The organization’s commitment extends year-round by providing children with other essential supplies to support positive development and academic success. ESF worked with its network of nonprofits to share the donated items nationally, serving additional nonprofits that fit within our focus areas and increasing the donation’s impact.
Day 5 focused on Asociación de Bancos de Alimentos de Colombia (ABACO), which provides vulnerable populations with food, nutrition and social support. Our Writing and Commercial businesses donated over 300,000 products, including Sharpie® pens and markers, Paper Mate pens, Elmer’s® glue, Prismacolor® colored pencils, Rubbermaid Commercial Products® microfiber cloths and mops, BRUTE® trash cans and more to support ABACO’s beneficiaries.
Day 6 spotlighted our Baby business’s support of Baby2Baby’s disaster relief program by donating over 1,000 Graco® Pack n’ Plays, car seats and travel systems. This donation directly impacted victims of the tornado in Mississippi and wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, which occurred earlier this year, helping ease the burden for families during unexpected times of need.
The Newell Brands Charitable Foundation’s partnership with Teaching for Change (TfC) was the focus of Day 7. Teaching for Change (TfC) equips teachers and parents with the tools to help students learn to read, write and change the world. We recently donated Sharpie S-Gels and Contigo tumblers, which were gifted to teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week, to the nonprofit.
On Day 8, we highlighted Good360, an organization that works to close the need gap and connect corporate donations with nonprofits across the globe. Newell Brands donated over $4.3M in products this year, impacting over 450,000 people in 40 U.S. states. The products were distributed to 280 nonprofits to use when needed most. The donation included 10,000 Rubbermaid Commercial Products microfiber cloths and mops and over 100,000 outdoor products like Coleman sleeping bags, tents, airbeds, cots and lanterns.
Day 9 focused on donations to Classroom Connections of East Central Indiana, which aims to address educational resource inequities by providing year-round classroom supplies and support to teachers in underserved communities. With our donation of several thousand Contigo water bottles and Bubba kids’ reusable bottles, over 7,000 students stayed hydrated and safe during the hot weather of the back-to-school months. Additionally, Coleman donated nearly 1,200 travel tumblers that were distributed as appreciation gifts to teachers throughout East Central Indiana. Classroom Connections’ mission includes increasing teacher retention rates, and small gestures like this can make a big impact on an instructor’s daily life.
On Day 10, we covered our impact near our headquarters in Atlanta, GA. Team members from our Home & Commercial Segment volunteered at Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB), a three-time Local Impact Grant Program recipient. This organization fights hunger and poverty by providing food and other resources to more than 600 partner agencies across the state. Our Atlanta employees also participated in a food drive for ACFB during November and donated nearly 800 pounds of food, which equated to 663 meals. In addition, Atlanta employees recently assembled nearly 700 sandwiches in less than an hour for The Sandwich Project, a nonprofit that provides meals to people experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. We also donated 40 Coleman coolers to help keep the sandwiches fresh and safe for consumption.
Day 11 spotlighted generous, employee-led donation drives at several of our locations. Newell’s Atlanta, GA Employee Resource Groups and Society of Women Engineers chapter and our Learning & Development engagement team joined forces to host a holiday donation drive for Helping Mamas and Lift Up Atlanta. These two organizations provide essential items and services to local families and unhoused people in need. The Atlanta engagement team also hosted a toy drive for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. In Maryville, TN, U.S., our employees donated 11,000 lbs. of food to Cross Food Pantry and Pellissippi Pantry, an average of 20 lbs. per Maryville employee! These pantries provide food to families and students facing food insecurity and hunger. Our Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S., team is partnering with Hoboken Family Alliance, an organization that supports children and families in the area by donating toys and pajamas, which will be distributed to local shelters, hospitals and daycare centers.
On the final day of the series, we highlighted six 2023 Local Impact Grant Program recipients. Near our Maryville, TN location, Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee leads the community in the fight to end hunger, operating food distribution programs in 18 counties. Their mission is to serve those facing food insecurity by bringing volunteers and community partners together. The grant supports purchases for their Food for Kids program which serves over 13,700 students at 292 schools. Another recipient, Appalachian Bear Rescue, cares for orphaned and injured black bear cubs with the mission to return to their natural habitat, increases public awareness about coexisting with black bears and studies all aspects of returning cubs to the wild. The grant supports their efforts in promoting public awareness and education about living safely with black bears and reducing human-bear conflict. The funds will also be used to provide secure trash straps, educational materials, and loaner electric fence kits and mats to East Tennessee residents who cannot afford or do not have the technical skills to install and use the technology. Near our Wichita, KS (U.S.) location, Boys & Girls Clubs of South Central Kansas provides enriching after-school and summer care for children from kindergarten to age 18. Their mission is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens. The grant supports scholarships that will enable members to participate in summer 2024 programs like academic enrichment activities, arts and crafts workshops and more. Kansas Food Bank Warehouse’s mission is to provide comprehensive and compassionate care whenever and wherever it is needed to safeguard the health, well-being and productivity of food-insecure Kansas families and others in the community. The grant supports Food 4 Kids, a weekend backpack program designed to meet the needs of chronically hungry, food-insecure children. Another recipient, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Wichita provides vital resources and care to children and their families being served by community healthcare providers. The grant supports the Adopt-A-Room program, an ongoing initiative created to provide general operating support for Wichita's Ronald McDonald House. Through the Adopt-A-Room program, private foundations and community supporters help provide temporary housing and support to families with sick and injured children by sponsoring a room for a designated time. All services, necessities and comfort items provided through the Ronald McDonald House program are available to families free of charge. Lastly, Sunlight Children's Services aims to provide resources that support and protect abused and neglected children and their families. The grant provides the children they serve with items needed during their stay and to-go bags filled with additional essentials that are distributed upon discharge. Each nonprofit participated in local events celebrating their grant during this year’s program. We look forward to learning about each grant’s impact in the coming months.
As we reflect on this year’s efforts to better our communities, we are inspired by our nonprofit partners’ extraordinary efforts and our employees’ commitment to giving back. Together, we can make a meaningful impact locally and globally.