Serving By the Side of Our Communities in 2019

Our commitment to philanthropy has been embedded in West’s culture for more than 95 years, and is an integral part of our overall Corporate Responsibility Program. In particular, 2019 was a banner year for philanthropy at West. Our team members closed out the decade with considerable personal investments in both time and resources dedicated to improving their local communities and promoting a healthier world. Our Culture of Giving is a key aspect of the team member experience at all of West’s global sites.

At West, our giving strategy is organized into a charitable giving framework with three pillars:

• Corporate giving in the areas of STEM, children and the disabled and healthcare through direct charitable gifts made by West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.
• The Herman O. West Foundation, an independently managed 501(c)(3) entity which matches team member contributions, provides team member relief and supports scholarships for our team members’ children
• West without Borders, our team member-led giving program

The Herman O. West Foundation supports programs like West’s Employee Emergency Fund, which helps team members who are facing financial hardship immediately after a natural disaster or unforeseen personal hardship. In its first year, the West Employee Emergency Fund has provided over 25 hardship grants to team members throughout the world. Our team members have supported each other by donating to this program, and the Herman O. West Foundation has matched these donations 2:1.

West without Borders provides our team members with the opportunity to give back to their communities through donations and volunteerism. Each of our more than 50 sites support charities of their choice, aligned with our corporate giving focus areas. This year, the West without Borders campaign donated over a quarter of a million dollars to global charities. All around the globe, team members donated thousands of hours volunteering at West events and volunteer days.

One major West without Borders campaign is the annual Global Food Drive. For our 2019 campaign, our team members donated an impressive 65,969 pounds of food in just two weeks to local charities and food banks! That’s 9,000 pounds more than our team members gathered the previous year. Some of the deserving recipients of our donations were Singapore Children’s Society (Singapore), Eschweiler Tafel (Germany) and The Salvation Army (United States).

“As 2020 begins, we will continue supporting these charities and uncover new volunteer opportunities for our team members. Together, we are truly making a difference. Thank you to our team members for their enthusiastic support of our philanthropy programs this past year,” shared Laura Pitt, Manager, Community Affairs, Global Communications.Learn more about our team members’ philanthropic efforts in 2019 by watching our “Thank You” video: 

For more information about West’s Culture of Giving, please visit the Our Culture of Giving page on our website.

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West without Borders is not affiliated with Doctors Without Borders^®, which is a registered service mark of Bureau International de Médecins San Frontières.