MOLINE, Ill., Jan. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/
-- Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) employees around
the world recorded more than 104,500 hours of volunteer support to
community organizations in 2015 – a 21 percent increase compared to
2014.
"It is important for Deere and its employees to support the many
organizations that help enhance communities around the world," said
Mara Downing, Director, Corporate Citizenship and Global Brand
Management. Downing said Deere's citizenship efforts focus on three
key areas - long-term solutions for world hunger, education, and
community development.
An example of these volunteer efforts is the packaging of 1.4
million meals for local food banks in the U.S. by approximately
5,300 Deere employee volunteers, an initiative that took place in
recognition of World Food Day. In Germany, another 300 employees packaged 6,000
food parcels for area food banks in four Deere communities.
In addition, approximately 1,800 Deere employees volunteered for
the United Way's Day of Caring in the Quad City area of
Iowa and Illinois, where the company's world
headquarters is located.
Deere's citizenship efforts include a robust global employee
volunteer program and grants both from its philanthropic
organization - the John Deere Foundation - and through
corporate contributions, which are made mostly in communities where
John Deere employees work and live. In fiscal 2015, Downing
said the company and the foundation contributed $28 million in its citizenship efforts across 12
countries.
"In total, we estimate our investments in citizenship activities
helped improve the lives of more than 15 million people across the
globe," Downing said.
Deere & Company (www.JohnDeere.com) is a world
leader in providing advanced products and services and is committed
to the success of customers whose work is linked to the land –
those who cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and build upon the
land to meet the world's dramatically increasing need for food,
fuel, shelter and infrastructure.
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SOURCE Deere & Company