UniFirst Donates $850,000 in Clothing to Haiti

UniFirst Corp., Wilmington, MA, recently announced that it donated nearly 34,500 garments with a retail value of more than $850,000 to aid relief initiatives in Haiti. UniFirst’s donations have been coordinated through Global Outreach Haiti, a member of Global Outreach International’s Caribbean efforts, according to a news release.

“We appreciate the investment UniFirst made by donating these items to Global Outreach Haiti,” wrote David and Judy Heady, directors of the mission in Haiti. “This clothing will certainly be welcomed and put to good use by the needy Haitians we serve.” Garments sent by UniFirst included T-shirts, polo shirts, work shirts, healthcare scrubs and more.

Global Outreach International is a nondenominational missions and development organization that trains, sends and supports missionaries in a wide variety of contexts around the world. The mission in Haiti is multifaceted, with a commitment to feeding, clothing and providing water to those in need. Global Outreach Haiti has four schools, a feeding program for the elderly, a burn clinic and a child sponsorship program. Well drilling and maintenance for much-needed water is also a very important part of the group’s efforts.

“Through our inventory-control efforts, we have previously donated thousands of items to local charitable organizations,” said David Roberts, general manager of UniFirst’s distribution center in Owensboro, KY. “The Headys are originally from Owensboro and their efforts in Haiti are well known by many of our employee team partners. When we knew we would be able to make a donation of this magnitude, we immediately reached out to them to see if their organization could make good use of the garments. It’s such a good feeling to know we could contribute to people in need in some way.”

UniFirst recently released its inaugural corporate social responsibility report, available at csr.unifirst.com. Said Roberts, “It’s opportunities like these that go a long way toward maintaining good corporate citizenship.”

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