HanesBrands and its employees have pledged $1.97 million this year to the United Way of Forsyth County and surrounding NC communities. For these efforts, the United Way of North Carolina gave Hanes its Spirit of North Carolina Award for campaign excellence, the 10th consecutive Spirit Award and 11th that Hanes and its employees have earned in the past 12 years.

“HanesBrands demonstrated excellence in its United Way campaign, but also a strong philanthropic culture and community engagement,” said Cindy Gordineer, UWFC president and CEO. “HanesBrands received high marks [in the Spirit Award selection process] for overall organizational volunteer culture, collaborative work with United Way, employee engagement and participation.”

The United Way also cited the company’s use of special events to engage and educate employees and the role of its leadership team in promoting a culture of philanthropy and community support.

Hanes was one of 30 organizations in the state to be highlighted and one of five companies in Forsyth County to receive the Spirit Award.

Hanes is a longtime leader in supporting the United Way. Since 2006, the company and its Forsyth County employees have contributed more than $25.5 million to United Way agencies.

“The employees of HanesBrands continue to generously support the vibrancy and health of our community,” said Maria Teza, HanesBrands United Way 2017 campaign chairperson and Hanes’ vice president, general manager, marketing, classic bras.

To support employee volunteerism, Hanes granted paid time off to nearly 400 headquarters employees to participate in the company’s Day of Caring at 13 local community agencies. Employee volunteers contributed more than 1,600 volunteer hours performing various tasks at the agencies including landscaping, painting, administrative duties and more.

During the weeklong campaign, activities held on campus included a kickoff celebration, silent auctions and an agency fair that provided employees an opportunity to learn about the various local non-profit agencies in attendance.

“This year’s campaign brought out the superhero in all of us and we had fun, while making a difference in our community,” Teza added.