M. Holland Community reaches out to victims of Hurricane Matthew
When Hurricane Matthew slammed into Haiti on October 4, 2016, it devastated a nation and people still working to rebuild from the catastrophic earthquake that struck six years earlier. M. Holland representatives were in Haiti for business the week after the hurricane struck; moved by what they saw, they looked for ways to assist with aid efforts.
M. Holland made a contribution to Project Medishare, a nonprofit that empowers Haitians to provide and receive access to quality health care. Since 1994, Project Medishare has collaborated with local communities in Haiti and doctors and health professionals all over the world to treat illnesses and injuries and deliver preventative care to residents of Haiti.
We are working to organize 200 kits that include a small bucket, a basin and a cup to be distributed to individuals through Project Medishare.
Partnering with the Rotary Club des Cayes in Haiti, we donated more than 150 large plastic buckets used for carrying clean water and a variety of other purposes to some of the areas most in need. We also partnered with the Sirius Foundation, a nonprofit that expands professional and educational opportunities for African-American women, to donate 200 cases of water.
It is our hope that these products will bring some relief to families in Haiti as they move forward with their lives. At the same time, we are making an effort to support local plastic manufacturing jobs.
Our efforts in Haiti are headed by Tracy Coifman who oversees M. Holland Puerto Rico (MHPR) and M. Holland Export Services (MHES), now a part of M. Holland Latinoamérica, which serves plastic processors in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and South and Central America. We introduced Tracy in a blog post earlier this summer that you can read here.
Coifman’s efforts in Haiti fit into a larger corporate volunteerism program, M. Holland Community, that promotes employee volunteerism as a means of fostering increased involvement in the company and in the greater community while demonstrating commitment to our Core Values. The M. Holland Community team is focused on effecting positive change through a variety of initiatives and partnerships. We’ll be telling you more about the work of M. Holland Community in an upcoming blog post.
As we reflect on Thanksgiving and look forward to the holiday season, we are grateful for the ability to lend a hand and help make a positive difference in the lives of others. At the same time, we want to convey the importance of giving back and set good examples for future generations.
You can learn more about the remarkable work of Project Medishare in Haiti and contribute to their efforts at Project Medishare.
Please check out some related previous posts
M. Holland’s Corporate Giving Committee
Plastics Pioneers Association/M. Holland Company Scholarship
Holland Aims To Protect His Company’s Culture