Teamwork
Our Teammates Take Pride in Conservation Activities
Each year, Bridgestone teammates across the country volunteer their time and skills in a wide variety of conservation activities. The following are just a few of our teammates’ great endeavors.
Every year, Bridgestone teammates volunteer their time, skills, and sweat to build homes as part of the Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) program. Habitat for Humanity (HFHI) is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry. HFHI seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness, inviting people of all backgrounds, races and religions to build houses together in partnership with families in need. Bridgestone Americas has been a partner of HFHI since 2003 and has sponsored and helped build multiple homes in the Nashville, TN, Akron, OH, and Detroit, MI, metropolitan areas. In 2006, HFHI presented Bridgestone Americas with the Golden Hammer Award, which is presented each year to the corporate sponsor and volunteer group that has shown exceptional commitment to helping further the mission of HFHI.
In 2009, more than 1,000 volunteers, including NFL players, VIPs, and teammates from the Bridgestone Americas family of companies, worked to restore a historic neighborhood in West Tampa, Fla., located just two miles from the home of Super Bowl XLIII. The event was run by the national nonprofit Rebuilding Together. Its annual “Kickoff to Rebuild” celebrated its 14th year as one of the key sanctioned charity events of the NFL Super Bowl. The 2009 “Kickoff to Rebuild“ was sponsored in part by sister companies Morgan Tire & Auto, LLC, which operates under the name Tires Plus, and Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO). Together they provided free restorations, renovations and energy efficient modifications to 20 homes within a five block radius.
In 2008, Bridgestone Americas created an employee-manned emergency response team that allows employee volunteers to respond when a natural disaster strikes. B.E.R.T. -- Bridgestone Americas Emergency Response Team -- helps agencies such as the Tennessee Emergency Management Association (TEMA) and local Emergency Management Agencies maximize the reach of their first responders by distributing donations, food and water; providing much-needed temporary housing for first responders; and offering emergency vehicle tire repair.
In 2007, Bridgestone Firestone's Wilson, North Carolina plant introduced a 250-acre Freedom Wildlife Habitat and Refuge to the community. The core of this event included the Merit Badge University for local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, with the natural habitat area providing resources for adult supporters, Bridgestone Firestone teammates and other volunteers to teach the scouts the knowledge and skills they needed to earn their merit badges. Service projects on the site also included trail building, planting a pollinator garden and participating in the New projects, including wild turkey and quail releases, tree and plant identification and brush pile construction, are currently being developed as part of a wildlife management plan. A 25-member volunteer team—a comprehensive cross-section of teammates, retirees, and outside groups—meets weekly to plan the habitat’s future. The plan aims to increase biodiversity by improving and linking adjoining habitats to provide a more stable and diverse ecosystem, while also inviting community involvement.
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Kodak American Greenway Award from the National Geographic Society & Eastman Kodak
