Creating Shared Value 

Creating shared value is at the heart of Giving Back. To create shared community value, we focus our efforts on understanding the needs of our communities and engaging them with supportive efforts that:
 

• Educate and develop long-term skills
• Inspire and build health through volunteering
• Revive and rebuild through disaster relief 
• Brighten and support lives through charitable giving
• Protect and sustain the environment

By focusing on the needs of our 24 identified communities, we create value for Southwire by helping to develop thriving communities with engaged residents and talented future employees. 
 

12 for Life^®

In 2007, Southwire kicked off the 12 for Life® educational recruitment initiative which provides students at risk of dropping out of high school with jobs inside a modified Southwire manufacturing environment while supporting them in earning their diploma. The program increases students’ familiarity with a work environment while affording Southwire opportunities to train and develop potential employees with limited on-the-job training after graduation. 

In addition to providing at risk students with the opportunity to work at Southwire while working towards their diplomas, the 12 for Life® initiative is an innovative way to build a stronger workforce for the future while bridging the skills trade gap. Through the end of 2020, there were over 2,600 students. The current regional graduation rate is 95%. In 2020, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continued to support the students through mentorship, financial intervention, and partnerships with technical schools that provide training connected to skill trade development. 

Southwire Expands 2020 Giving Efforts in Response to COVID-19

In response to COVID-19, and in support of our long-standing tradition of Giving Back to the communities in which we live and work, Southwire announced our largest donations to date in a three phase expansion of Giving Back efforts focused on hunger, education and hope for the holidays. Donations throughout the year, totaled $1 million.

Project GIFT^® (Giving Inspiration for Tomorrow) Relief Efforts

Southwire and Project GIFT partnered to bring relief to families impacted by COVID-19 by fundraising for hunger through the #UniteONESouthwire campaign, and during the holidays through the Hope for the Holidays virtual event. Funds were distributed to non-profit organizations like Feeding America, Toys for Tots, Salvation Army, Children International, Feed the Hungry and more. Project GIFT also provided more than 36,000 bags of school supplies for children in need, and the Blackshirt volunteers wrote messages of encouragement to kids starting the new school year during the pandemic.

Virtual Volunteering

Due to the pandemic, volunteering went virtual, and Project GIFT Blackshirts were able to continue Giving Back in a variety of ways – all while remaining safe. Volunteers were able to earn hours by sending e-cards to a variety of recipients, such as children at St. Jude or Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, or by participating in a virtual concert for residents at local nursing homes.
 

*2020 in-person community engagement activities curtailed due to COVID-19.