Benefits of Being a Good Neighbor
It was June 2015, almost 2 years and a half ago, when I had the chance to spend one week in Whirlpool Global HQ in Benton Harbor (Michigan). Between one thing and the other, between the curiosity to meet the colleagues there and discover the worldwide HQ of my new Company, I have been impressed by a plate.
In this plate, dated 1965 (nineteensixtyfive) there was an inspirational message from the local communities of the cities around who wanted to demonstrate their abiding affect and respect thanking Whirlpool for the strong civic and social conscience.
I was surprised how already more than half century ago Whirlpool was recognized for its history of civic engagement, supporting the neighborhoods where lives and works.
I spent few minutes in front of these words which definitively opened my eyes and as soon as I had the chance to get involved in the wide work that Whirlpool does through the Corporate Citizenship programs, I didn’t think twice and I enrolled in the EMEA HQ Community Day last September.
Me, together with around thirty colleagues stepped away from our desks opting for Mission Bambini project, where we shared our experience and provided hands-on support to empower Amico Charly, an NGO that every day welcomes children and teenagers of the local area. As soon as arrived we have met the Project leaders of the NGO which welcomed us with their effective speeches. We definitively admired them for the positive impact that they bring to our communities.
After that, it was finally the time to pass to the practice and we spent the morning from cleaning up a garden to paint the locker rooms and color the container used as tools storage. In our own small, we made our best to keep our footprints and leave to the children and the teenagers, guests of “Amico Charly”, a better environment where to spend their time. Children and teenagers, in their delicate age, are the real soul of this structure and finally, after the lunch break we had the chance to meet them, all of us were looking for this moment from the beginning of the day. We gave our support mentoring, teaching and helping them with the homework. The positive results were evident and when it was time to leave and say goodbye, most of them, who at the beginning seemed shy and skeptics, were now disappointed by our departure.
The day has flown but, forging this strong link, we preserve now a better understanding of the local communities around our EMEA Headquarters. On the bus for the way back, most of us were planning on getting more involved.
I thoroughly enjoyed the day, it has been a great way, moreover, to meet colleagues from other functions, getting to spend time with a group of people you don’t interact with on a day-to-day basis, making such great connections and teaming up with them to support the neighborhoods where we live and work.
A last quote also to the mentioned organizations that welcomed us, they gave us the possibility not only to contribute but certainly also to benefit as a company and as individuals of such experience.
Francesco Conti, HR Manager, GIS & Legal, Whirlpool EMEA
