To help many families that are currently struggling with hunger in the Chattanooga area, Faurecia employees from the Chattanooga facility collected 1,384 pounds of non-perishable food goods to donate to the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. The collection was part of Faurecia’s annual FUELS challenge (Faurecia Unites Employees for Local Service).  

Faurecia employees across North America participated in the challenges, collecting nearly 660,000 pounds of food, 392 percent of its initial goal. Over the past three years, Faurecia and its employees have helped to provide more than 1.3 million meals to families in need through this program.

Faurecia employees at 45 production sites and technical and customer centers across North America donated 660,000 pounds of non-perishable items to local food banks as the company’s annual food drive soared past its initial goal by 392 percent. Food collected throughout September as part of the FUELS (Faurecia Unites with Employees for Local Service) program, now in its third year, will provide nearly 730,000 meals to needy families in the communities where more than 17,000 Faurecia employees live and work. In the past three years combined, the FUELS program has provided over 1.3 million meals.

For the overall 2012 campaign, top performers were the employees at Fraser, who donated 219,456 pounds—2,888 percent of their goal—to Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan and at Querétaro, Mexico, who brought in more than 33,600 pounds—2,032 percent of their goal—for the Alimentos para la Vida IAP. Faurecia will donate $5,000 to each of those two food banks to help extend their support for local families.

“When times are so difficult—with one in six people right now going hungry in the United States—we need to help each other in every way we can,” said W. DeWayne Wells, president of Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan. “We are enormously grateful for the food that Faurecia employees are placing on our shelves and on the tables of their neighbors in hundreds of American towns and cities.”

This year, for the first time, Faurecia also contributed $1,000 each week to the locations’ partner food banks in the U.S./Canada and in Mexico that raised the highest share of food for the week. The weekly winning sites include Belvidere, Il.; Silao, Mexico; Fraser, Mi.; and Hermosillo, Mexico.

To gather the food or dollar donations for food banks,, employees volunteered their time to create, organize and participate in an array of community events. Employees at some sites conducted raffles, bake sales, dunk tanks and golf outings. Others succeeded with chili cook-offs, football-squares games and even a spoof of a “best legs” contest.

Faurecia’s Troy, Mi., location also collected cans to create unique sculptures drawing inspiration from iconic Detroit sports teams and landmarks. The structures used more than 3,600 pounds of food to complete. All cans were donated as part of the FUELS challenge.

“Our employees continue to amaze me with their commitment to FUELS and their creativity in collecting donations,” said Faurecia North America President Michael Heneka. “In the difficult economic times that challenge many communities, our employees have demonstrated that they can make a difference that extends far beyond the workplace, reaching those who need our help most urgently. I am extremely proud of our employees’ efforts during the 2012 FUELS program.”

Each site that met its goal was provided with a $500 donation from Faurecia for their partner food bank. This year more than 80 percent of the sites met their goal, resulting in an additional contribution of $37,000 by Faurecia North America.

Faurecia employees also donate time to their local food bank as part of the FUELS program. This year employees donated more than 1,000 hours of service in the month of September.

In addition to the annual FUELS campaign, Faurecia participates in a variety of service-oriented and charitable causes through its business groups and individual sites, including efforts associated with education, research, volunteerism and other activities.