Welfare Spotlight:
Partnering with Rotary International in El Salvador
Over the past several years, Hanesbrands has been an active community member in San Juan Opico, a city in El Salvador where Hanesbrands has significant manufacturing operations.
We have a unique partnership with San Salvador Maquilishuat chapter of Rotary International to provide significant assistance to the community of San Juan Opico. In 2008 and 2009, Hanesbrands donated a combined $75,000 worth of recyclable items to Rotary International. Rotary sold these items, and together Rotary and Hanesbrands use the proceeds of our donated scrap materials to fund community projects.
Using a progressive recycling program to fund ongoing community improvement projects – that are identified by the community, our company, employees and Rotary – is yielding impressive results. So far, we have restored running water, refurbished a school, and provided seeds and fertilizer to communities for family farming.
The partnership used funds to improve a school in the Nueva Argentina and Canton Agua Escondida communities of San Juan Opico. Working with the mayor of San Juan Opico, we constructed and outfitted new classrooms for the school. We also contributed musical instruments for the school’s music program, making it possible for the students to expand their learning in the arts.
In 2008, the partnership restored clean running water to 200 homes in the Nueva Argentina and Canton Agua Escondida communities of San Juan Opico. The funding provided a new water pump and electric panel that helped bring water directly into local homes.
In 2009, the partnership provided $45,000 worth of corn and bean seed and fertilizer to the local farming community in San Juan Opico. The program enabled more than 2,500 families to grow food for their own consumption.
In 2010, Hanesbrands donated 410 backpacks full of school supplies (pencils, notebooks, staples, glue, books, mini dictionaries, a dental hygiene kit and vitamins) to students of the Agua Escondida Elementary School in San Juan Opico. The backpacks were given in hopes that the donation will encourage local students – who range in age from kindergarten to ninth grade – to attend class.