HanesBrands Raises More Than $2.5 Million for the Arts Council and United Way in Forsyth County

Press release (Aug. 30, 2012) — HanesBrands announced that the company and its employees exceeded their goal and raised $334,715 for the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County during its 2012 campaign, an increase over 2011's gift of $330,173.
Hanes is the Arts Council's largest employee workplace campaign and one of the nonprofit's top corporate donors.

"HanesBrands is a staunch ally of the Arts Council as we work to enrich arts education in the schools, recruit and retain the best employees for our businesses, and ensure the vibrancy of our city and county, said Milton Rhodes, president and CEO of the Arts Council. "They are one of our shining stars in terms of corporate and employee support and we are both proud and grateful to be associated with them."

Since 2001, the company and its employees have donated more than $3.9 million to support the Arts Council's mission to enrich the lives of residents by advocating on behalf of the arts. In 2008 the company and its employees pledged $2 million to the Arts Council to help fund the construction of HanesBrands Theatre, a 300-seat performing arts theater in downtown Winston-Salem.

The company's Arts Council campaign followed another successful United Way campaign in which Hanes and its employees pledged $2.2 million to be donated to the United Way of Forsyth County in 2012. Hanes and its 2,500 Forsyth County employees have been the largest corporate contributors to the United Way, donating more than $30 million to support community agencies and programs since 1999.

"We surpassed our $2 million goal by $200,000 because of the unwavering support of Hanes employees," said Ann Fritchman, the company's current United Way campaign chair. "Our employee participation was up this year, a true testament to how much Hanes employees care about their community, how important they are to the community, and how committed they are to helping United Way provide critical services to those in need."