Social Impact in North America
Supporting and helping improve our local communities is what we have been known for since Whirlpool Corporation was founded in Michigan in 1911.
Whirlpool Corporation is proud to work with our employees, their loved ones, and our communities to help make sure everyone has a place to dream and belong. Because vibrant, participatory communities play an important role in improving life at home.
Where We Focus in North America
Habitat for Humanity International®
In the past 22 years, Whirlpool Corporation has donated more than $130 million to Habitat and supports programs in 45 countries. As part of these efforts, the company also donated and installed nearly 212,000 ranges and refrigerators in new Habitat for Humanity homes in the U.S. and Canada, serving more than 120,000 families. Whirlpool Corporation has sponsored more than 190 homes; donated products to 76,000 Habitat families in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and engaged thousands of employee volunteers in Habitat builds alongside future homeowners.
To learn more about Habitat for Humanity, or to get involved, visit habitat.org.
United Way®
We partner with United Way across the U.S. to fund thousands of organizations and causes within our communities that focus on education, income, health and basic needs. Our current and retired employees participate every year in raising funds for local United Way campaigns in their respective locations. The Whirlpool Foundation offers a dollar-for-dollar match on contributions made to these campaigns.
Join us as we continue to support the merits of a quality education, help families achieve financial stability and promote healthy lives.
Equality and Fairness within our community
Several important neighborhood and community development initiatives have evolved through Whirlpool Corporation’s multi-year Equality Pledge and Commitment, impacting the headquarters community of Benton Harbor, Michigan. Learn more here.
Care Counts™ Laundry Program
According to teachers nationwide, 1 in 5 students struggle with access to clean clothes.* The stigma and shame of not having clean clothes can lead students to miss school, and students who miss school are seven times more likely to drop out. The Care Counts™ laundry program by Whirlpool brand is committed to helping remove one small but important barrier to attendance – access to clean clothes – by installing washers and dryers in schools. Now in its fifth year, the Care Counts™ laundry program has grown to support students in need across 18 cities and 82 schools around the country – providing access to clean clothes for more than 38,000 students. In 2019, Whirlpool brand also launched a national program, offering a limited amount of laundry pairs to qualifying elementary schools. This expansion will allow Whirlpool to more quickly scale Care Counts™ laundry program moving forward, with expectations that an additional 100 schools will be enrolled in 2020.
To complement the launch of the expansion program in Fall of 2019, Whirlpool brand hosted events in Chicago and New York where researchers, educators and the general population learned about the Care Counts™ laundry program and its impact to date. Attendees were able to become involved in the program by assembling “Care Kits” of laundry supplies that were then donated to participating schools. The events garnered media coverage in outlets like CBS Chicago and Yahoo! News.
* Based on a survey conducted by phone within the United States by Braun Research from April 25 – May 8, 2019 among 600 public school teachers (18 years or older).
Maytag Dependable Leader Awards
Since 2010, we have teamed up with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to help further their mission to build great futures for youth. We’ve recognized 107 outstanding Club staff and volunteer leaders through the Maytag Dependable Leader Award, and nearly 6,000 Whirlpool Corporation employees have volunteered at various Clubs across the U.S. Whirlpool employees and local Clubs also come together annually for games and team-building activities during their Days of Dependability event. In 2019, a Whirlpool Corporation catering team and other employee volunteers served up a Thanksgiving meal for 170 Boys & Girls Club members in Benton Harbor, MI. In total, we’ve impacted more than 107,000 young people, and the Maytag brand has donated over $8.4 million to equip America’s youth with the resources and experiences they need to reach their full potential.
Dependability is always welcome, get involved here.
Looking for information on product donations or funding support? All contributions must fall under our CSR strategy for House+Home.
More than half a century ago, Louis and Frederick Upton, two of Whirlpool Corporation’s founders, established Whirlpool Foundation with a commitment to reinvest in the community. Their intent was to provide financial leadership support for nonprofit organizations dedicated to improving the quality of life in the communities where Whirlpool operates.
Whirlpool Foundation will keep that decades-old promise, using new and innovative ways to make lasting impact on society, with an emphasis on our home communities.
In addition to our formal programs, Whirlpool Foundation addresses community issues through partnerships and collaboration to best leverage resources and broaden the impact of change and improvement.