Donations per country
You will find below a few examples of initiatives Gildan contributed to in the communities in which we are presently operating.
Dominican Republic
Enhancing Students’ School Experience
Gildan is actively involved in improving the quality of life for students in the communities where we work. We currently engage with four schools located in close proximity to our facilities in the Dominican Republic, Futuro Vivo, Arcadia Reyes, Mata Vaca and La Granja, where we conduct regular assessments to identify their specific needs for classroom materials and infrastructure improvement.
At the beginning of the 2012 school year, we invested $12,000 to remodel bathrooms at the La Reforma School and install a potable water system to ensure that the 800 students and teachers alike are in a healthy learning environment.
In addition, we donated $4,000 to repair Arcadia Reyes School’s bathrooms, where 300 students were positively impacted by these improvements. We also inaugurated a teachers’ room at the Tomas Hernández Franco School, located in La Reforma.
Eco Schools
Eco Schools is an international environmental certification program under the leadership of the Foundation of Environmental Education (FEE) that is awarded to educational institutions that implement environmental improvements within their facilities and curriculum and in the community. The program, which focuses on water conservation, waste recycling, energy saving and consumption in addition to climate change, actively involves students and members of the community in building awareness and action on environmental sustainability.
The rights of the program are owned by the Environmental Rights Institute of Dominican Republic (IDARD), and in September 2010, as a member of the National Business Network for Environmental Protection, Gildan committed to sponsor the Eco Schools Program, which took place in four schools located in the Municipality of Guerra, home to our Dominican Republic textile facility. The schools sponsored by Gildan are Futuro Vivo, Arcadia Reyes, Mata Vaca and La Granja which together totals approximately 1,700 students.
The sponsored schools formed environmental committees that developed an assessment to identify environmental issues in their schools. From this assessment, they developed action plans to address the issues found. The students followed this action plan and presented the final projects to Gildan, their peers, teachers, local authorities, representatives of the Ministry of Education and Environment. By the end of 2012, the four schools received their Eco School Certification and Green flag, which attests that the schools comply with the action plan prepared by the students. The program and the flag are recognized by well-known organizations including the United Nations.
Collaborating to Create HIV Awareness
Gildan is proud to be a part of the Dominican Republic’s first private-public partnership plan to combat HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases. In 2012, Gildan partnered with various organizations in the Dominican Republic, including the Ministry of Health, the Canadian Embassy, the Bayaguana City Hall and Municipal Council to Combat HIV, to implement the “Integrated Care Unit and HIV Awareness Campaign.”
During the year, Gildan donated $10,000, which will go towards the funding of medical supplies, equipment and promotional materials, as well as cover training, transportation and operational costs for the program. Over 1,000 people from the Bayaguana community and surrounding area will benefit from these efforts.
Honduras
Continuing Technical Education with Instituto Politécnico Centroamericano (IPC)
Building job skills is vital for sustainable community development. Since 2005, Gildan has been actively engaged with spearheading an industry-wide initiative to create the Central American Polytechnic Institute (IPC) in Honduras. Gildan’s initial funding was $500,000.
The IPC is the first technical institute in Central America to provide training for those involved in textile, apparel and other industries through intensive two to five month courses or one-year technical programs.
As the only technical institute of its kind in Central America, the IPC offers training programs in areas including industrial refrigeration, air conditioning, mechatronics, and textile and apparel technology. We have previously provided business and technical advice that resulted in the construction of a full-service student residence where Honduran students can benefit from living at the IPC without having to pay expensive fees for transportation or temporary accommodations.
Gildan has sponsored 320 scholarships since 2006 to encourage access to these programs for Gildan employees and their families, as well as to unprivileged young men and women from all over the country. In 2012, this contribution totaled $500,000.
Since its inception, over 6,000 students graduated from all IPC programs, including over 1,000 students who graduated from the IPC one-year program, with a 90% job placement record in a wide range of companies in Honduras, including at Gildan. We also partner with the IPC to offer training sessions to our employees, representing an additional US $300,000 in funding for the IPC during 2011 and 2012.
Constructing a Healthy Environment at Ramón Rosa School
As part of Gildan’s “Part of Your Life” campaign at our Villanueva sewing facility, our employees submitted over 20 ideas for community development programs. A Gildan team composed of employees and managers evaluated the potential programs and selected the Ramón Rosa School as a community partner, since several employees’ children attend this school. We constructed new bathrooms for the 700 students attending the school, providing them with a healthy learning environment. Gildan donated $17,000 for this project.
Contributing to Healthier Schools and Homes
In September 2012, Gildan signed a collaboration agreement with Visión Mundial Honduras (World Vision Honduras) to implement the “Healthy School and Home Program” in five schools where our employees’ children study. The program’s main objective is to encourage both children and members of their families to adopt behavioral changes in order to improve their health, personal hygiene and basic sanitation at home and in the community. We invested approximately US $11,500 that will benefit 4,000 children and their families.
World Vision Honduras is a nonprofit organization that focuses on sustainable development practices and implements humanitarian aid programs for children, families and communities to overcome poverty without discrimination.
Disaster Relief for Neighboring Farmers
As part of our long-term commitment to support the communities where we operate, we donated $6,000 to two groups of Honduran farmers that suffered damages by severe flooding during the rainy season. This contribution will help 27 farmers and their families in the community repair their impacted houses.
Continuing Support for Teletón
Since 2004, Gildan has been supporting Teletón, a Honduran non-profit organization that provides support to people with mental and physical disabilities, through its annual fundraising event which finances its rehabilitation centers located across the country. Every December, we launch an internal fundraising campaign among employees to maximize donations to this organization. In 2012, Gildan donated more than US $22,000 to Teletón. Since 2004, our donations have totaled more than $155,000.
Nicaragua
Safety for Children
We launched the “Part of your Life” program in 2011 to provide our Nicaraguan employees with the opportunity to suggest projects and initiatives for Gildan to get involved in. During February 2012, we worked with Carrusel Los Pollitos Kindergarten, a day care school for over 60 children between three and six years of age. A thorough needs assessment revealed that there was a lack of perimeter walls at the school, exposing the children to unsafe conditions. In order to ensure a safe environment for the children, we donated $10,000 for the construction of perimeter walls in addition to educational toys and a playground set for the school.
Improving our Communities’ Quality of Life
The largest initiative within the “Part of Your Life” program in 2012 was the construction of a bridge over the Gil Gonzalez river, as suggested by employees from our Rivas sewing facility. We donated $19,000 for the bridge construction, a project that benefits more than 3,000 community members yearly.
Haiti
Supporting Education in Haiti
As an on-going effort to support the areas that were impacted by the 2010 Haiti earthquake, we conducted a needs assessment in Port-au-Prince and identified a group of schools in urgent need of repairs. We became involved with the Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire School, which is located in an area that was completely devastated by the earthquake. In September 2012, Gildan invested US $21,000 to build a new classroom, benefitting more than 300 students aged between 10 and 12 years.
Barbados
Fostering a New Learning Environment for the Vauxhall Primary School
In March of 2012, Gildan representatives visited the Vauxhall Primary School, located in a community in close proximity to our Barbados office. During this visit, we provided 54 students with educational tools such as geometrical kits, reading aides and writing materials for their upcoming exams.
Building on the success of this supply donation, we became more involved with Vauxhall Primary School during the remainder of the 2012 school year. Gildan donated $15,000 that went towards major renovations in the school’s bathrooms and the creation of a library for the students. Vauxhall’s 400 student population, many whom come from underprivileged backgrounds, will benefit from these renovations on a daily basis.
UNITED STATES
Donating Our Products to Local Charities
In 2012, our Charleston facility donated a total of $30,000 in products to three charities based in South Carolina: Lowcountry Orphan Relief, Tricounty Family Ministries and Teachers’ Supply Closet. The products offered by Gildan, which included T-shirts, socks and underwear, will help these non-profit organizations fulfill their respective mission of serving various categories of underprivileged individuals, families and children.
"We would like to express our appreciation for Gildan's very generous donation of socks & underwear. Your contribution will enable us to help clothe the hundreds of people who come to our center for help with the most basic needs." - TriCounty Family Ministries
"As always, your donations will be greatly appreciated and be of great use for the children we support who have no personal belongings in the foster care environment."- Lowcountry Orphan Relief
Contributing to United Way in Eden
During the second quarter, employees at our Eden, North Carolina distribution center participated in the annual United Way fundraising campaign by making financial donations, which were then matched by Gildan. A total amount of $40,000 was donated to United Way in 2012.
The “I Support…” Program - A T-shirt can help make a better world!
The “I Support…” program was developed and launched in 2010 to encourage people to tell us about the charities they support and how they are making a positive impact on the world.
Its second edition was launched in April 2011 and Gildan doubled its commitment by pledging to donate up to $200,000 to charitable organizations across North America. With every purchase of Gildan’s Softstyle T-shirt (style 64000 and 64000L), Gildan sets aside a percentage of the profits to fund charitable donations to be distributed through the program.
In 2011, the first component of the “I Support…” program was based on the participation of Gildan’s customers and distributors, as well as the general public, to help determine the charities that would receive donations in recognition of their contribution to their communities. Residents of Canada and the US were asked to tell us about their favorite charity and why it has a positive impact on their community. In 2011, the nomination and voting process was supported through Facebook. Visitors of the GenuineGildan Facebook page could nominate a registered charity and/or “vote” for their favorite stories.
- Based on various metrics, such as the number of votes, a Top 10 list was announced in October of 2011. In January 2012, Gildan announced the name of the five charities that had been selected by a panel of judges, based on a number of criteria including accountability, sustainability and impact:
- Our Little Roses Foreign Mission Society – Genuine Stewardship award ($50,000)
- Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society – Impact award ($20,000)
- Amizade Global Service-Learning – Sustainability award ($10,000)
- Camp DreamCatcher – Accountability award ($10,000)
- YESIWUAH, Inc. – People’s Choice award ($10,000)
Network for Good + Gildan = Gildan Good Cards®
One of the new features from the 2011 edition of the “I Support…” Program was the Gildan Good Cards®, created from a partnership with Network for Good, a non profit giving portal that enables online giving to over 1.2 million registered charities in the United States. Through these cards, over 90 different 501(c)3 charities were impacted with an additional $100,000 in donations over the course of 2011.
The Good Card® is a gift card enabling the recipient to direct a pre-paid $50 donation, on behalf of Gildan, to a valid United States registered charity of their choice. Gildan offered these cards within its wholesale trade network as well as to individuals who nominated a registered 501(c)3 charity to the “I Support…” program on Facebook.
“Gildan is a great example of a company that understands what it means to be engaged with their community. Even though the corporation operates on a global scale, the ‘I support…’ program allows Gildan to connect with stakeholders at a local level and empowers those individuals to make a difference in the communities in which they live and work. We enjoy our partnership and commend Gildan for using The Good Card® – a gift card for charity – to reward program participants and empower them to support causes close to their hearts.”
- Dan McCabe, Chief Development Officer
Network for Good
Gildan’s first "I Support..." campaign
In 2010, Homeboy Industries was selected via a panel of judges to receive a donation of $100,000.
“The gift from Gildan's I Support program helped underwrite job training at Homeboy Industries. With six social enterprise businesses, Homeboy trains and employs about 175 to 200 youth a year. These youth are moving beyond the gang life into a life of hope by learning skills, completing their education, removing tattoos, and addressing many other issues. Gildan made it possible for Homeboy to offer a pathway to change.”
– Fr. Greg Boyle, Founder and Executive Director
Homeboy Industries, recipient of the $100,000 donation as part of the Gildan “I Support…” 2010 campaign
To learn more about the “I Support…” program, please visit www.GildanISupport.com or the program’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/genuinegildan.