News Huber Helps Awards Impact Your Community Funding

Huber Helps Awards Impact Your Community Funding

The Huber Helps Impact Your Community funding program aims to contribute to projects that can benefit a community for multiple years or generations. The goal is to support projects that offer Huber the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy in a way that smaller contributions may not, particularly when the need exceeds a site’s local community engagement budget.

Huber employees were invited to submit applications for this round of funding in February. Locations around the world advocated for causes where they believed Huber could help, submitting 17 applications in total. The majority of requests in this cycle were for educational or wellness-related projects benefiting children.

Projects were evaluated on the following criteria:

After an extensive review and evaluation process, the following projects were selected to receive funding:

Helping Center of Marble Falls (Marble Falls, Texas)

Donation for a new loading dock at their food distribution center

The Helping Center of Marble Falls, located in the same community as the Huber Engineered Materials Ground Calcium Carbonate plant, has been assisting underprivileged families in the area with food and basic services since 1987. The center, which currently serves 350 families monthly, operates out of an old plant nursery building that is in desperate need of replacement. There is a community-wide fundraising initiative underway to construct a new building. Huber’s contribution will fund the construction and refurbishment of the loading dock, helping donors and volunteers expedite the delivery and pick-up of donated food and supplies.

Holly Creek School District (Broken Bow, Oklahoma)

Donation for a playground refurbishment project

The Holly Creek School District is located within the same community as the Huber Engineered Woods Broken Bow plant and has been providing education to families since 1907. The elementary school currently serves 250 families, most of whom are underprivileged. The current playground structures, which are also accessible to the public when school is not in session, are in need of replacement. Huber’s donation will supply the school district playground with new, safer equipment.

Shanghai Young Bakers Project (Shanghai, China)

Donation to fund the 2019/2020 educational program

Shanghai Young Bakers started their program in 2009 with the mission to provide a one-year high-quality training in baking and pastry preparation, free of charge, to disadvantaged Chinese youths. Their purpose is to empower the trainees to become skilled and responsible adults with the ability to live independent lives and support their families. More than 35% of the graduates confirm their employment before graduation and others receive an average of two-to-three job offers within two weeks after their graduation. Huber’s donation will help the 2019/2020 class of 30+ students undertake baking classes, life skills training and internships through to their graduation in July 2020. CP Kelco’s Shanghai office employees are also active volunteers at the organization.

This is the second time that Huber Helps has funded this project. The previously funded graduating class are all now fully employed in hotels in Shanghai.

Musicians for Education (San Diego, California)

Donation to fund their 2019 Dream Team Project for young mothers at risk

Musicians for Education is a registered charity supported by San Diego musicians and community members, including members of CP Kelco’s San Diego plant, dedicated to providing educational and life skills support to teen mothers who are at risk of homelessness or imprisonment. The Dream Team Project serves about 100 young women per year through a mentoring program designed to help them complete high school and enter college. Huber’s donation will fund the entire Dream Team Project’s 2019/2020 program.

Okmulgee School District (Okmulgee, Oklahoma)

Donation to fund a SmartLab® Program for middle school students

The Okmulgee Area Development Corporation, in conjunction with Okmulgee Public Schools and representatives from local businesses including CP Kelco’s Okmulgee plant, is implementing a new SmartLab program that will impact the Middle School program of 500 students annually through an improved Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum and tools. SmartLab is a registered trademark of Creative Learning Systems, LLC and includes hardware, software, furniture, kits, curriculum and professional development. Huber’s donation will contribute to the funding of the SmartLab program installation in the district to enhance STEM learning capacity for the next five years.

 

We thank all employees who submitted project applications—the response to the invitation for submissions reflected how committed Huber employees are to doing good in their communities and living by the Huber Principles.