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Pledge Award Winners
Employee Volunteer Program Helps South Korean Smallholder Farmers during a Labor Shortage
Like young people in many other developed nations, young South Koreans have been leaving farming for work in the cities. This has created a labor shortage in the Korean agricultural industry, especially among small family-owned farms. Without additional labor, many of these farms are in danger of going out of businesses.
To help alleviate the situation, the Seminis Human Resources and Sales teams in South Korea organized a volunteer effort among employees to help local farms prepare for the upcoming season. More than 230 employees volunteered and worked almost 2,000 hours with farmers in Daegu, a region especially hard hit by labor shortages.
In addition to helping the local farmers with some of their most labor-intensive tasks, the project benefited the local community. Ensuring that the farmers were well prepared for the melongrowing season helped to preserve the local agricultural industry. The project provided many opportunities for dialogue between Seminis employees and the farmers, increasing their understanding of each others’ concerns. By volunteering to help during a time of need, the team got to know the local farmers as partners in the agriculture business.
School Renewal Project Improves Educational Opportunities in Tlajomulco, Mexico
Around the world, a quality education is seen as one of the most important tools to improve children’s chances for success. Nonetheless, schools in many communities struggle because of a lack of resources. In early 2005, employees of our Tlajomulco Breeding Center in San Miguel Cuyutlán, Mexico, began a volunteer project to renovate a school and to provide students with a better learning environment.
The team selected the Manuel López Cotilla School, which was in a state of disrepair and could benefit from community assistance. Through individual employee contributions, a grant from the Monsanto Fund, and funding from Fondo Unido de Jalisco (a United Way affiliate), the team raised $9,500 for the project. The municipal government provided an additional $4,700. By July, the team replaced walls and ceilings in classrooms, improved bathrooms, installed a large water reservoir, connected the building to the municipal sewer system, installed new lighting, built a storage room, and painted the interior.
Because of the team’s efforts, children in Tlajomulco now have a safe, inviting, and functional environment for learning, which increases their chances for success. The program has also inspired many companies operating in the area to adopt other schools.
