West Corporate Responsibility Report: Philanthropy

For many years, West has targeted its philanthropic efforts to support charities focused on children, people with disabilities, healthcare and education, with a focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) — all within the communities in which our team members live and work. The Company’s giving strategy focuses on three elements: Corporate Giving through direct charitable gifts made by West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.; the Herman O. West Foundation, an independently managed 501(c)(3) entity, which awards scholarships and matching gifts; and West without Borders*, our team member-led giving program.

One of the highlights of our 2018 team member fundraising efforts was our third annual Global Food Drive. Each year, every West site around the globe collects food that is donated to local food banks and soup kitchens. In 2018, team members surpassed our campaign goal and collected more than five pounds of food per person resulting in more than 65,000 pounds of food that fed tens of thousands of people across the world.

In 2018, Corporate and Foundation giving reached approximately $1.3 million, and team member giving totaled nearly $515,000. Since the inception of West without Borders in 2004, team members have raised millions of dollars for hundreds of charities located around the globe.

Another key accomplishment of 2018 was the collective effort to support our team members in Kinston, North Carolina, after that region was devastated by Hurricane Florence. The safety of our team members will always be our primary concern, and we were committed to doing all we could to support them through that challenging time. A West Employee Relief Fund was set up to assist our Kinston team members who had sustained damage as a result of the storm. Through this Fund, 190 team members were assisted with grants totaling $95,000. In addition, West made a $25,000 donation to the American Red Cross of Kinston Hurricane Florence Relief Program, who provided much-needed shelter, food and supplies to the region.

We are also proud to share that, in 2018, West’s Employee Emergency Fund was created, which assists team members who are facing financial hardship as a result of a natural disaster or an unforeseen personal hardship. This program was rolled out globally to our team members in early 2019.
At West, we look forward to continuing to build upon our culture of giving back and our commitment to having a positive impact on the communities in which we live and work.

Click here to view the full 2018 Corporate Responsibility Report.

*West without Borders is not affiliated with Doctors Without Borders®, which is a registered service mark of Bureau International de Medecins San Frontieres.