Helping victims of Hurricanes Maria, Harvey, Matthew and Irma
When Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico, BD’s first priority was to support our colleagues at our plant in Cayey. After ensuring the safety of all BD associates on the island, we sent relief shipments of food, water, medicine, personal generators and other basic necessities to our more than 650 associates residing in Puerto Rico. BD associates from across the United States also came together to build more than 8,100 hygiene kits to donate to survivors of major 2017 hurricanes; and BD donated more than $900,000 in cash and product donations.
Doing what’s right in times of tragedy
When Hurricane Joaquin caused extreme flooding in South Carolina in 2015, a BD plant in Sumter was seriously damaged, and dozens of BD associates were personally impacted. BD donated $250,000 to local recovery and relief efforts spread-headed by the American Red Cross, AmeriCares, Direct Relief and PortLight Strategies. That same year, BD donated $25,000 to wildfire relief efforts on the West Coast, and BD associates raised $80,000 for AmeriCares, through a matching gift program to serve victims of the Nepal earthquake.
Caring for each other in times of trouble
In 2017, in response to widespread requests from BD associates who wanted to help fellow associates whose lives had been devastated by Hurricanes Maria, Harvey and Irma, we launched the BD Employee Disaster Relief Fund. The Fund provides eligible associates with funds for basic living expenses that are not covered by insurance, including housing, home repair, food, clothing and other basic living essentials. BD contributed $500,000 to the fund in 2017, and committed to matching all additional associate donations, up to $250,000.
