Building Communities Where Everyone Can Thrive
Community Impact
Hershey has a long tradition of putting people first—from creating a town where our employees and their families could thrive to supporting programs and partnerships that keep families fed and lend a hand during hard times.
We strive to enhance the places where we live and work through programs that support basic needs, education and workforce development and advance inclusive community economic development. In addition to our philanthropic giving and product-donation programs, our remarkable people show up for their communities in many ways, volunteering hundreds of thousands of hours each year for the causes they care about.
Our approach is to ask what each community needs from us and then to find a way to answer that need. The amounts we donate to different causes and the volunteer events we complete each year are different, but in general we grant more than $10 million a year in monetary donations and usually complete well over 100,000 hours of volunteering (except during the COVID-19 pandemic). Our efforts range from supporting food banks and nutritional education to providing relief efforts and aid after natural disasters, helping tackle homelessness and making moments of goodness for kids with special needs.
When we all pitch in to make a difference, our shared communities flourish.
Watch one of the many ways our employees give back—by participating in Good To Give Back Week, our global week of service.
Learn more about our Global Week of Service in our 2020 Sustainability Report
Hershey Recognized for Doing Good
In 2020 Hershey received several rankings for our community work, including a spot on the Civic 50. We have been recognized by the Forbes Just 100 list for the second consecutive year—and have jumped from #86 last year to #34 this year. The list of 100 corporations ranks publicly traded American companies that are leading the way on issues that Americans care about most.
Our Goals & Progress
Our Goals & Progress
Being a Caring Company
Hershey employees are incredibly generous, dedicating their time and resources to causes they care about. We match that generosity by providing matching gift programs and volunteer initiatives. To learn more about our workplace giving, matching gifts and employee volunteer leave programs, see our Sustainability Report.
Our colleagues in each of our plant and office locations across the U.S. and globally work to identify what each local community needs and craft tailored approaches to support these needs. This includes forging partnerships with local Non-Governmental Organizationss, providing grants and contributions and organizing volunteer service activities and employee fundraisers. These efforts are informed by our overarching Environmental Social and Governance strategy.
Our Impact
- Total company giving (cash)
- Total company product and in-kind donations
- Total number of volunteer hours
- Total number of lives impacted by philanthropic donations and partnerships