Relay for Life in Puerto Rico
 The Fernando Santiago athletic track in Aibonito, Puerto Rico, was the site of the 2006 Relay For Life last April. For the first time, the employees at our To-Ricos facility in Aibonito participated in this annual campaign, raising more than $1,500 to support the American Cancer Society.
At the closing ceremony, our To-Ricos employees were awarded third place for corporate fund raising and second place for consistency on the track. Relay for Life 2006 was much more than a walk around a track for these employees; it was a time to remember those lost to cancer and to celebrate the lives of those who have survived.
Kicking Hunger out of East Texas
Pilgrim’s Pride is working with the East Texas
Food Bank to help fight hunger in local communities.
This fall, the company donated 46,853 pounds of chicken
to the feed hungry children, families and seniors in a
26-county region of East Texas. The donation ranks as
one of the largest in recent history. As part of its annual
fundraising campaign, the East Texas Food Bank featured
the partnership with Pilgrim’s Pride in TV and radio commercials,
website advertising and direct-mail pieces sent to 12,000
homes in the region.
The partnership grew out of the company's support for National Hunger Awareness Day, a national effort by America’s Second Harvest, the largest network of food banks in the nation.
God's Katrina Kitchen -- Helping our Neighbors in Need
In an effort to help the many Gulf Coast residents suffering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, Pilgrim's Pride donated more than 50 tons of fully cooked chicken to God's Katrina Kitchen, a relief agency set up to help feed and house local residents and relief workers in Pass Christian, Mississippi.
Pilgrim's Pride was initially contacted by The Valley Responds, a Harrisonburg, Virginia-based volunteer group made up of local residents, church leaders and government officials, to request a food donation on behalf of God's Katrina Kitchen. The Valley Responds had adopted the city of Long Beach, Mississippi, to help it rebuild after it was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Refrigerated trucks supplied by Gunnoe Sausage Company of Goode, Virginia, and King Benevolent Fund, Inc. in Bristol, Virginia, picked up 106,000 pounds of fully cooked batter-breaded chicken and fully cooked dark chicken fajita strips in several loads, which were then delivered to Pass Christian.
"We are thankful that Pilgrim's Pride has been able to help us care for so many people in this area," commented Greg Porter of God's Katrina Kitchen. "With every business, restaurant and home south of Main Street in the area destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, this is the only place in the area people can get a meal. This donation is a true blessing that will help us continue to feed the many people we are able to serve each day."
Serving with Pride
Mitch Carlin, refrigeration supervisor for the Lufkin, Texas, plant, returned to the U.S. on December 10, 2005 after completing a 14-month tour of duty in Iraq. In this photo, Mitch proudly flies a Pilgrim's Pride flag on the back of his Humvee at Camp Taquaddum, which is about five miles southwest of Fallujah.
"[Plant Manager] John Davidson, [Complex Manager] Cecil Jackson, [Maintenance Superintendent] Ronnie Harrison and everyone at Lufkin kept in contact with me the entire time. They made sure I had everything I needed," said Mitch. "Joe Szadziewicz, our day shift manager, gave me the flag when I came home on leave at the end of July, and I took it back when I returned in August."
"Everyone at Pilgrim's Pride was really supportive while I was there," Mitch said. "I couldn't ask for anything better in an employer."
Proud to Support our Community in Marshville, NC
The generous employees at Marshville have long been known for supporting the local community, and their efforts keep growing, year after year. Five years ago, the Marshville Company and Community Pride (CCP) Team began with four people who met monthly, raising an average of about $1,000 per year. Today, the team consists of more than 30 people - not to mention the other 500 employees who help make it successful. Total funds raised last year exceeded $15,000 - which doesn't include the $25,000 raised by Marshville employees for the local United Way campaign. In 2005, the Marshville Employees gave $23,715 in cash donations to help the needy through activities sponsored by the CCP Team.
The CCP Team helps many people in many ways. The team provided Christmas to the four children of an employee who passed away during Thanksgiving one year, and provided Christmas for 17 two-year-olds in a local Head Start class. And for the previous two Christmas seasons, the CCP Team provided gift baskets complete with blankets, lotions, books and more to 100 residents of a local nursing home.
Other donations include $5,000 to the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life event, in which our employees participated, and sponsoring local sporting teams with uniforms and playing equipment. The team also gave generously to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief efforts in both Louisiana and Mexico, in addition to donating money to Tsunami relief, and has provided financial support to local 4-H and Spanish clubs in our area.
Supporting Education, Improving Workplace Skills
Northeast Texas Community College (NTCC) and Pilgrim's Pride Corporation have partnered for more than 10 years to sustain and improve the workplace adult education program at the Mt. Pleasant, Texas, complex. Since the program began, Pilgrim's Pride management and NTCC program administrators have worked together to ensure that instruction focuses on the skills and knowledge our employees need to advance in their jobs, meet demands for productivity, and ensure safety.
A team from Pilgrim's Pride and NTCC meets twice monthly to identify ways to improve instruction to meet specific employee and company needs. The meetings have yielded valuable results, enabling Pilgrim's Pride and NTCC to continuously improve this program. After analyzing the data, the team decided to focus specifically on percents and ratios, safety communication, workplace writing, and departmental vocabulary and communication skills.
Pilgrim's Pride and Northeast Texas Community College are working together to focus on point # 13 of the 14 Points of Continuous Improvement: Institute Education and Self Improvement.
Nacogdoches Community Pride Team Gives a Winning History Lesson
For the fourth year in a row, the Nacogdoches, Texas, Company and Community Pride (CCP) Team took first place at the annual Nine Flags Festival Parade in downtown Nacogdoches, Texas.
The theme for this year's parade revolved around all nine flags that have flown over Nacogdoches throughout the city's history. Nacogdoches employees researched the history of each flag and established the corresponding time period, and Pilgrim's Pride provided outfits to reflect each era.
The 40-foot float, designed by CCP Team Member Dwayne Mar, focused on the nine flags theme, with each letter and outfit representing its respective flag.
Community Garden Raises Funds for Charity
 One Employee at the Marshville, North Carolina, complex has raised more than $1,500 for the Company and Community Pride (CCP) Team. Guadalupe Salto, who began working on a farm in Mexico when he was 10 years old, asked for permission to grow vegetables on a plot of unused company land. Human Resources Manager Dave Butters developed the idea with Guadalupe to allow other employees to purchase the vegetables to raise money for community contributions, which has proven to be a winning combination for both the company and the community.
Tour de Franconia
Pilgrim's Pride Employees in Franconia, Pennsylvania,
participated in the MS Bike Tour, a two-day,
150-mile bike ride organized to help end the devastating
effects of multiple sclerosis (MS). Franconia employees
Felica Bock, Bob Lengyel and Bryan Moyer accepted the
challenge, along with 6,500 other individuals nationwide
who believe that their efforts will ultimately lead to
a cure.
With the help of fellow Franconia employees, the CCP Team, and friends and family, these employees were able to raise more than $5,000 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation also donated $1,000 for this important cause.
|