AUBURN HILLS, Mich.,
Oct. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Faurecia
employees at 45 production sites and technical and customer centers
across North America donated
660,000 pounds of non-perishable items to local food banks as the
company's annual food drive soared past its initial goal by 392
percent. Food collected throughout September as part of the FUELS
(Faurecia Unites with Employees for Local Service) program, now in
its third year, will provide nearly 730,000 meals to needy families
in the communities where more than 17,000 Faurecia employees live
and work. In the past three years combined, the FUELS program has
provided over 1.3 million meals.
For the overall 2012 campaign, top performers were the employees
at Fraser, who donated 219,456
pounds—2,888 percent of their goal—to Gleaners Community Food Bank
of Southeastern Michigan and at
Queretaro, Mexico, who brought in
more than 33,600 pounds—2,032 percent of their goal—for the
Alimentos para la Vida IAP. Faurecia will donate $5,000 to each of those two food banks to help
extend their support for local families.
"When times are so difficult—with one in six people right now
going hungry in the United States—we need to help each other in
every way we can," said W. DeWayne
Wells, president of Gleaners Community Food Bank of
Southeastern Michigan. "We are
enormously grateful for the food that Faurecia employees are
placing on our shelves and on the tables of their neighbors in
hundreds of American towns and cities."
This year, for the first time, Faurecia also contributed
$1,000 each week to the locations'
partner food banks in the U.S./Canada and in Mexico that raised the highest share of food
for the week. The weekly winning sites include Belvidere, Ill.; Silao, Mexico; Fraser, Mich.; and Hermosillo, Mexico.
To gather the food or dollar donations for food banks,,
employees volunteered their time to create, organize and
participate in an array of community events. Employees at some
sites conducted raffles, bake sales, dunk tanks and golf outings.
Others succeeded with chili cook-offs, football-squares games and
even a spoof of a "best legs" contest.
Faurecia's Troy, Mich. location
also collected cans to create unique sculptures drawing inspiration
from iconic Detroit sports teams
and landmarks. The structures used more than 3,600 pounds of food
to complete. All cans were donated as part of the FUELS
challenge.
"Our employees continue to amaze me with their commitment to
FUELS and their creativity in collecting donations," said Faurecia
North America President Michael
Heneka. "In the difficult economic times that challenge many
communities, our employees have demonstrated that they can make a
difference that extends far beyond the workplace, reaching those
who need our help most urgently. I am extremely proud of our
employees' efforts during the 2012 FUELS program."
Each site that met its goal was provided with a $500 donation from Faurecia for their partner
food bank. This year more than 80 percent of the sites met their
goal, resulting in an additional contribution of $37,000 by Faurecia North America.
Faurecia employees also donate time to their local food bank as
part of the FUELS program. This year employees donated more than
1,000 hours of service in the month of September.
In addition to the annual FUELS campaign, Faurecia participates
in a variety of service-oriented and charitable causes through its
business groups and individual sites, including efforts associated
with education, research, volunteerism and other activities.
Social media press release including photos, video and tweetable
facts available at http://bit.ly/WgOwoT
For more information on FUELS, including photos, video,
anecdotes and more details about each Faurecia site's
contributions, connect with Faurecia on:
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FaureciaFUELS
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/FaureciaFUELS
- YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/FaureciaFUELS
About Faurecia
Faurecia is the world's sixth-largest automotive supplier with
four key Business Groups: Automotive Seating, Emissions Control
Technologies, Interior Systems and Automotive Exteriors. In 2011,
the Group posted total sales of $22.5
billion. Faurecia employs 84,000 people in 33 countries at
270 sites and 40 R&D centers. Faurecia is listed on the NYSE
Euronext Paris stock exchange. For more information, visit:
www.faurecia.com.
About Faurecia North America
Faurecia North America had sales of $4.8
billion in 2011. The Group has 37 production sites in
the United States, Canada and Mexico and employs more than 17,000 people in
the region. It has five technical and development centers, situated
in Auburn Hills (2), Holland and Troy,
Mich., and in Columbus,
Ind., as well as customer centers in Southfield, Mich. and Toledo, Ohio, and a shared services center in
Auburn Hills.
SOURCE Faurecia North America