Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC) today announced that Team Schein Members (TSMs) from around the world have collaborated to build more than 17,000 hygiene kits for girls, children, and adults living in international emergency areas. TSMs assembled the kits as part of the Company’s inaugural We Care Global Challenge, an initiative that aims to bring colleagues together under the shared mission of benefiting children and communities in need.
Beginning at the Henry Schein Germany national sales meeting in January and continuing at the national sales meetings for the Company’s Canada Dental and U.S. Animal Health, Medical, Special Markets, and Dental businesses, TSMs set about the goal of building a combined 10,000 hygiene kits. Working in partnership with global nonprofit organizations, Save the Children and Heart to Heart International, Team Schein quickly surpassed that goal and assembled 17,450 kits.
“The We Care Global Challenge embodies the charitable spirit that has long defined Team Schein’s commitment to society, and I could not be more pleased with how our team came together across borders and across businesses,” said Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein. “By leveraging our collective strengths with those of our partners, we have truly been able to ‘help health happen’ for people in need, especially in times of disaster. I am already looking forward to what we will accomplish together in next year’s Challenge.”
Each kit contains essential health and hygiene items, such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, washcloth, and towel. TSMs also assembled kits specially designed for girls entering adulthood. Save the Children has already distributed a number of the kits, to Syrian refugees living in Europe, adolescent girls in Malawi, children living in communities affected by natural disasters in Canada, and children at the U.S.-Mexico border. Kits have also been pre-positioned to assist in Hurricane Florence relief efforts.
“We are grateful to Henry Schein for their partnership in supporting our efforts to ensure children in the U.S. and around the world stay healthy when they are most vulnerable,” said Save the Children President & CEO Carolyn Miles. “These hygiene kits play a critical role in our ability to effectively respond to emergencies and disaster-affected areas, and help meet children and their families’ essential needs.”
“Team Schein Members across the globe exemplified Heart to Heart International’s PowrServ model of philanthropic team building, happily rolling up their sleeves for a wonderful cause,” said Jim Mitchum, Chief Executive Officer, Heart to Heart International. “Each business team went above and beyond its original goal and demonstrated its own unique passion for making a difference. Team Schein was clearly up to the challenge and we thank them for their hard work and dedication to positively impacting our shared society.”
The We Care Global Challenge is an initiative of Henry Schein Cares, the Company’s global corporate social responsibility program. For more information about the We Care Global Challenge and Henry Schein’s commitment to emergency preparedness and disaster response, please watch “Partnering to Prepare for Emergency“, an interview with Jeanne-Aimee DeMarrais, senior adviser for U.S. emergencies at Save the Children. The interview is part of #scheinchats, Henry Schein’s signature social media series.
