We work to help those in need by supporting numerous nonprofit organizations, through financial and product donations, and organizational support. Our employees and retirees are active partners in these efforts, volunteering their time and giving generously to make a positive difference where it's most needed.

Corporate Contributions

Within the Hershey Company, individual employee volunteers are an important part of our community involvement, and we support them in their donation of time. In our “Dollars for Doers” program we donate $250 to the charity of their choice, if they participate in 50 hours of community service over one year. Employee participation in “Dollars for Doers” increased by 34% from 2009-2010. In 2010, we donated funds to over 40 different organizations through this program.

Support Our Troops

The Hershey Company is proud of our product donations to the U.S. military. Our donation program enables employees to send a case of Hershey products to family and friends serving overseas. We prepare and mail care packages to troops, and have sent 1,320 cases of products since the program began. We take care to send the best Hershey’s products for their geographic location. Troops in Afghanistan and Iraq receive products like TWIZZLERS Candy, GOOD & PLENTY Candy and PAYDAY Peanut Caramel Bar which can withstand the heat. We’re honored to be able to share our Hershey Happiness with the troops, and we recognize the impact that our care packages can have on their morale. As one soldier shared with us, the REESE’S Peanut Butter Cups we sent him made the homesick soldiers very happy.

Key Partners

Two organizations we consider to be vital partners in our efforts in the community are United Way and Children’s Miracle Network.

United Way addresses the needs of local communities globally, with a focus on helping improve access to healthcare, promoting self-sufficiency and strengthening families.

In total, we proudly support over 1,400 organizations with our corporate donations including: The American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Junior Achievement, and Dress for Success, to name a few.

Children’s Miracle Network is a non-profit alliance of children’s hospitals dedicated to providing state-of-the-art care, life-saving research and preventative education across North America. Our long-standing relationship with Children’s Miracle Network has impacted the lives of many children. “The years of partnership that we’ve had with The Hershey Company are invaluable. Thanks to the leadership and commitment of its employees, The Hershey Company is directly responsible for helping hundreds of thousands of children and their families have a better tomorrow.” - Marie Conley, Director of Children’s Miracle Network.

In total, we proudly support over 1,400 organizations with our corporate donations including: The American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Junior Achievement, and Dress for Success, to name a few

philanthropy without borders: supporting our global community

In the Philippines, we funded the creation of a therapeutic garden at an orphanage for children with special needs. The garden is designed to provide a healing and relaxing environment for the children’s therapy sessions. The orphanage is in the Elsie Gaches Village near our Hershey Philippines office, and receives continued support from the employees of the office. In 2009, we built the Hershey’s Pure Water Refilling station, which provides safe and clean drinking water to the residents of Elsie Gaches Village.

In Mexico, we supported the creation of a children’s burn center in 2003. It was the first in the region, where severe burn injuries are very common for children due to open-fire cooking. The burn center provides critical, often life-saving care to about 200 low-income children each year. Because of this center, the childhood mortality rate in this region has significantly decreased. We continue our commitment to the center through Hershey Mexico’s United Way campaign.

We enable the contribution of expertise to education, community development efforts and nonprofit organizations. This includes providing technical support and expertise to organizations such as the World Cocoa Foundation and the United States Food & Drug Administration, providing laboratory services and support for projects such as Ghana Fine Flavors for the Gates Foundation, and developing and delivering education programs in the community such as Hershey Honors Authentic Business Management.

Hershey Honors Authentic Business Management at the Milton Hershey School

Hershey Honors Authentic Business Management is a partnership between The Hershey Company and the Milton Hershey School that provides real life business applications to students as an educational and curriculum development tool. The 35-week course is taught to Senior Honors Business Students at Milton Hershey School, integrating core learnings from classroom experiences and connecting them to relevant, corporate life. The curriculum engages 40 Hershey Company personnel, as “Subject Matter Experts,” in on-site, interactive discussions about their work, goals, real world challenges and successes. The course provides the students an understanding of how each function supports the organization and the typical background of its employees. It shares an inside view of Hershey’s purpose, mission, vision and culture, and follows the general path of product development from concept to consumer enjoyment.

Paul Cocco, Team Lead, Northeast Sales Office, reflected on the inaugural year, “We can all be proud of how our company responded to the challenge to extend the Hershey legacy. I’ll be most excited when we complete the cycle, and former Hershey Honors Authentic Business Management students become subject matter teachers. That’s the vision and we’re on our way.”

Hershey’s North American Sales Team & Rebuilding Together, New Orleans

In May 2011, 600 members of our sales team gathered in New Orleans for their annual meeting. On Wednesday of the week-long meeting, Hershey partnered with Rebuilding Together New Orleans to contribute to the rebuilding of over 25 homes in the New Orleans area. Our volunteers logged more than 2,500 corporate hours of service. Many shared that the most rewarding part of the day came with the smiles and thank-yous from the families they were helping.

We’re proud of our employees, who are consistently generous in giving their time, expertise, and money to many different organizations world wide. Our employees and retirees are active volunteers in their communities, where they support a variety of causes, organizations, and activities ranging from educational programs, food banks, United Way partner agencies, scout troops, sports teams, and environmental organizations. They serve in many different ways: as fundraisers, board members, coaches and mentors. Employees are also giving of their own personal money for programs like Children’s Miracle Network fundraisers or casual dress days to support various nonprofit organizations.

Project Fellowship

This program pairs employees with Milton Hershey School student homes to help build friendships between employees and the children. Right now 65 student homes have been adopted, and there are over 1,000 volunteers in this program. Project Fellowship groups participate in fun events together such as bowling, pottery painting, and paintballing.

Hershey’s Track & Field Games

HERSHEY’S TRACK & FIELD Games is the largest youth sports program of its kind in the United States and Canada. The program strives to get kids moving and build their self-esteem in a fun, active way. HERSHEY’S TRACK & FIELD Games has impacted over 10 million youth since 1977. There are over 300 employee volunteers who help in many different ways during the four day North American Final.

Ajay Ketty is one of the many employee volunteers. He has been volunteering with HERSHEY’S TRACK & FIELD for 13 years, and serves on the core planning committee. His main volunteer role is ensuring that the field and facilities are ready for the thousands of kids, families, fans, and employees who attend the North American Final in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He supports the program because of its mission and the fact that he gets to be a part of an experience the kids will remember for the rest of their lives.

Employee Volunteer Profile: Sandy Fox

Sandy Fox cares about supporting lower-income senior citizens through the Housing Development Corporation and its “Santas for Seniors” program. She is involved in a program that provides gifts for the elderly who may otherwise not receive any gifts for the holidays. Her passion led her to enlist her colleagues, and in one year she grew the number of seniors supported by Hershey employees from 20 to over 250. What grew from a personal passion, led to the involvement of many other Hershey employees. “Seeing the joy on their faces when they receive the gifts is priceless and rewarding” said Sandy. For her dedication she was awarded the ‘Howard J ‘Bud’ Kisinger, Jr.-Volunteer of the Year’ award from the Mid Atlantic region. Extraordinary employee volunteers lead to an extraordinary community for us all.