Huber Selects Impact Your Community Funding Recipients
ATLANTA (February 14, 2022) – J.M. Huber Corporation chose ten organizations for their Impact Your Community (IYC) funding—the largest number of recipients since being launched in 2018. This annual Huber Helps program supports projects that can benefit a community for multiple years or generations, offering the Company the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy in a way that smaller contributions may not, particularly when the need exceeds a Huber site’s local community engagement budget.
Employees from locations around the world advocated for causes that they believed Huber could help, submitting 35 applications for IYC funding in late 2021. Projects were evaluated on a variety of criteria including having a robust governance structure and financial model, creating a long-term positive impact in a community, and providing opportunities for Huber’s employees to participate in volunteerism when appropriate.
After an extensive review and evaluation process, 10 projects were selected to receive funding in early 2022.
CP Kelco — Okmulgee, Oklahoma
Funds to replace eight STEM lab stations
Beggs High School, in rural Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, has 309 students in grades nine through 12. The goal of Beggs High School is to prepare students to be forward thinkers who support and advocate for themselves. Ensuring students understand responsibility and accountability promotes a strong work ethic, instilling a desire to continue to do their best work beyond high school.
The Huber Helps contribution will be used to fully replace all eight lab tables, enabling students to perform experiments in a safe environment. These stations each accommodate up to five students, so a class of up to 40 will be able to easily participate in lab activities.
Catawba Lands Conservancy (CLC)
Huber Engineered Woods (HEW) — Charlotte, North Carolina
Funds for Project Greenway Connection
CLC is a community land trust established to ensure that both today’s communities and future generations can enjoy ecological, economic and environmental benefits. CLC has permanently conserved nearly 17,000 acres (about 6,880 hectares) of land in the Southern Piedmont region of North Carolina, which includes Mecklenburg County, where the HEW headquarters are located.
The Huber Helps donation will provide a portion of the funds needed to secure a grant from The North Carolina Land and Water Fund to acquire land and construct trails along Catawba Creek in Gaston County. This acquisition would facilitate trail connections between two future parks and existing preserves, creating almost 1,000 acres (about 405 hectares) of permanently protected land in this critical watershed. It will also allow the continuation of the Carolina Thread Trail that exists above and below Catawba Creek, resulting in over six contiguous miles of trail along the river within the next five years.
CP Kelco — Skensved, Denmark
Funds to establish CP Kelco Academy
Connect Køge, located near the CP Kelco facility in Skensved, Denmark, is dedicated to supporting the economy in the municipality of Køge. The foundation’s work fosters partnerships among local companies, educational institutions, public figures and other organizations.
The Huber Helps funding will help establish CP Kelco Academy. The multifunctional learning facility will offer teaching programs specially developed to support the learning objectives of the Danish Educational System (DES). Together, CP Kelco employees and local teachers will develop learning materials by aligning the company’s case studies and process knowledge with the goals and curriculum of the DES. CP Kelco employees will also have the hands-on opportunity to participate in lessons.
Fang Fang Education Project
CP Kelco — Shanghai, China
Funds to sponsor the education in 2022 for young girls in ethnic minorities in China
The Fang Fang Education Project prioritizes helping children’s education in China, with priority given to young girls, who have been historically disadvantaged. To date, the organization has benefited from nearly 900 donors and volunteers in more than 30 countries who together have sponsored 2,500 students.
The Huber Helps donation will fund one year of education and living costs of young girls from ethnic minority groups in China. Additionally, a partnership is being established between the Fang Fang and CP Kelco site in Shanghai, which will provide employees with the opportunity to become individual sponsors, donating stationery and old books to students and contributing to teaching lessons.
HEW — Commerce, Georgia
Funds to support the Bags of Love and Feeding Northeast Georgia programs
iServe’s mission is to serve those in need and teach them skills that lead to change, with the hope of bringing an end to the generational poverty in their lives and families. To advance this mission, iServe has two ongoing programs: Bags of Love and Feeding Northeast Georgia.
The Bags of Love program feeds families in partnership with 15 schools in Jackson and Madison Counties, near the HEW site in Commerce. Every week school is in session, 200-300 backpacks of food are sent home with children to alleviate food insecurities. The Feeding Northeast Georgia program donates 30,000 pounds (13,600 kilograms) of food three times a month via mobile pantries—providing thousands of families with about 150 pounds (68 kilograms) of food.
The Huber Helps funding will support the operations of these programs throughout 2022.
HEW — Broken Bow, Oklahoma
Funds to remodel and furnish a community STEM lab
Kiamichi Tech serves 13 counties in southeastern Oklahoma, near HEW’s Broken Bow facility. The Center offers a variety of evening and weekend courses, as well as certifications in many diverse career fields. Kiamichi Tech has over 20,000 full-time and short-term enrollments each year and serves local businesses through their Workforce and Economic Development Centers that coordinate with over 400 organizations annually.
The Huber Helps funding will be used to remodel and furnish a community STEM classroom that will be utilized by the Kiamichi Tech Pre-Engineering program and McCurtain County schools. The space will accommodate summer STEM camps, as well as after-school programs for robotics and other activities.
Huber Engineered Materials (HEM) — Bauxite, Arkansas
Funds to build an on-site community garden and recreational area for families
Near the HEM facility in Bauxite, Arkansas, Kidsource Family Services is focused on empowering families through educational and recreational community programs, as well as access to services that help children develop and grow. They particularly concentrate on serving children who are medically fragile and/or have developmental delays, supporting the belief that all children and families should be able to play, learn and grow.
The Huber Helps contribution will fund the building of an on-site community garden and recreational area for families. Establishing this landscape area is the first step in a broad, multi-year plan to create better programs that further support the health, wellness and education of local families.
J.M. Huber Corporation — Edison, New Jersey
Funding for renovations to one of its group homes
LifeTies, Inc. strives to nurture wellness and self-sufficiency in vulnerable youth, young adults and their families in Ewing, New Jersey, near Huber’s corporate office in Edison. They provide support through two residential group homes, a supportive housing program for homeless families, as well as a mentorship program for youth involved in the juvenile justice system. They particularly focus on children and young adults with mental, behavioral and health issues, as well as those who identify as LGBTQ+, and those experiencing homelessness or early pregnancy.
The Huber Helps funding will contribute to much-needed improvements to their Triad House group home—a 24/7 facility with the capacity to accommodate nine youths. The building was constructed in the early 1930s and needs renovations to three of its four bathrooms.
CP Kelco — San Diego, California
Funds to support annual programming of environmental education for under-resourced youth
Since 1999, Outdoor Outreach has provided opportunities for more than 17,000 young people to explore their world, cultivate belonging, and discover what they’re capable of. The youth they serve come from communities that have been historically impacted by social inequities. By providing opportunities to surf, bike, kayak or climb, their programs help participants discover their strengths and forge meaningful connections with peers and mentors.
The Huber Helps funding will allow Outdoor Outreach to incorporate lessons on sustainability and conservation into more than 400 adventure-based recreational learning programs around San Diego County, helping more than 2,000 teens learn how they can preserve and protect the places where they play. Funding will also support 40+ hands-on environmental stewardship projects, forging an action-oriented connection with close-to-home green spaces and inspiring the next generation of environmental champions.
This is the third time Outdoor Outreach has received funding from the IYC program.
Veterans Empowerment Organization of Georgia, Inc.
J.M. Huber Corporation — Atlanta, Georgia
Funding for renovation efforts that will convert two buildings into a permanent supportive housing program
Veterans Empowerment Organization of Georgia, Inc. serves veterans who are at risk for or are experiencing homelessness near the Huber’s corporate office in Atlanta. The organization provides supportive services including but not limited to case management, mental health and substance abuse assessment and support, job skills training, workforce development, job placement assistance and transportation assistance.
The Huber Helps funding will be used to purchase furniture, fixtures and equipment needed for renovations on two buildings that will be converted into permanent supportive housing (PSH) for homeless veterans. Each building will have 14 efficiency units. PSH will not only resolve homelessness and increase housing stability, but also improve health and lower public costs by reducing the use of publicly funded crisis services, including shelters, hospitals, psychiatric centers, jails and prisons.
Since the launch in 2018, Huber Helps has donated to 28 charitable organizations through the IYC program, for a total of $1,742,000 funds deployed.
Visit the Huber Helps page to learn more about Huber’s community engagement initiative.
