What is DuPont’s overall Community Impact strategy?  It’s outcomes based and has three focus areas: Basics to Thrive, STEM Education and Innovations for Good. We provide support for basic needs in the areas of food, water, hygiene, shelter, and safety. We support the promise of a good education for all, specifically in STEM areas to inspire the next generation of a diverse workforce. We leverage DuPont technology and innovation to help solve some of the world’s most challenging problems. Our work is driven by the passion and expertise of our 24,000 employees around the globe who give their time, talent, and treasure – and everything we do is in support of DuPont’s 2030 Sustainability Goals to build thriving communities/improve 100 million lives.

I have seen DuPont volunteers working in our garden (which provides fresh produce and flowers for our food pantry clients), and I know they have helped in the food pantry as well. What other ways does DuPont partner with LCS? We take a holistic approach to our nonprofit partnerships including funding, volunteerism and – when applicable – gift-in-kind donations (products, used equipment/furniture, meeting space, etc). Traditional volunteerism, like working in the garden or food pantry, is probably what most people think of and our employees definitely enjoy this type of activity. But we also look for opportunities for skills-based volunteerism … using professional experience for good. For example, last year one of our Legal employees helped Rob Gurnee to review the LCS Bylaws and Code of Ethics. And right now we’re sourcing an IT employee to offer technical advice. This type of volunteering deepens the connection for the employee, provides a significant cost savings for the nonprofit partner, and ultimately helps people to thrive … a win-win-win!

How does DuPont support its employees in serving in the community? For over 200 years, DuPont has encouraged employee volunteerism! In the past it’s mainly been grass roots and up to each Manager, but we’re currently developing a global volunteer program which will include guidelines, infrastructure, and recognition. We’re also piloting an internal volunteer portal where employees can search and sign up for volunteer opportunities and record their service hours … all of which count towards our 100 million lives goal.

What else would you like our community to know about DuPont? Our company has been HQ’d in Wilmington for over 200 years, and while our footprint and business has changed dramatically our commitment to this community, and to helping people to thrive, has remained firm.

What would you like to see at LCS in the future?  Continued success with providing essential needs for Delawareans, and a ramping up of the new Delaware Food Farmacy program if pilot results yield a sustainable and scalable solution for families. And of course, more DuPont volunteers!

We are grateful for the support we receive from DuPont. I appreciate the thoughtfulness of their approach and that we have received general support funds as well as volunteers working on a range of activities. The skills-based volunteerism for legal and IT support has been particularly impactful for LCS. It’s also nice to be able to share our organization’s vision and outcomes during annual partner meetings with Jan and the Community Impact Team. They truly understand the context of the work and have a broad perspective based on their wide scope of nonprofit relationships.