A Hershey employee volunteering at the company's Stop Hunger Now volunteer event, which was among the reasons the company was named as part of The Civic 50. Photo provided by Business Wire.

The Hershey Co. joins 49 other companies in being selected as one of America’s most community-minded companies in The Civic 50— an annual recognition of businesses committed to making a difference in the communities where they operate. 

Hershey was recognized as No. 3 in the Consumer Discretionary Sector, No. 2 overall for social impact, No. 4 overall for institutionalization and No. 6 overall in the business impact category. And, Hershey scored in the top 25 percent of companies in all five ranking categories.

Mike Wege, chief marketing and growth officer, The Hershey Co., says the recognition is incredibly meaningful to Hershey.

“Our company was built on our founder’s belief that ‘business is a matter of human service’ and the remarkable employees at Hershey work to bring goodness to the world each and every day,” he says. “Making a difference is a Hershey core value and we are motivated when our business expertise and financial resources are able to make measurable, positive change.”

Wege adds that the the chocolate maker is motivated to use its resources to make measurable, positive changes. 

“From developing programs that help cocoa farmers in West Africa to food-insecure families in our backyard and around the world, our employees bring a passionate commitment to all of our programs,” he explains.

One of those programs was its “Good to Give Back Week,” Hershey’s global week of volunteerism.

More than 1,700 Hershey employees across five countries participated in the event, where they had the opportunity to make a meaningful difference through social projects with a track record of making positive, measurable impact in the community.

In just its second year, the number of Hershey employees who participated in the program increased fivefold.

The week culminated in a record-setting event with Stop Hunger Now, a global non-profit focused on ending hunger through providing food and life-saving aid to people around the world.

More than 600 Hershey employees worked together for three hours in dozens of assembly lines to create and pack 210,000 nutrient-filled meals that were delivered to children in need. Then, 30,000 meals were sent to feed hungry children in El Salvador, and 180,000 meals were shipped to Liberia as part of the massive response to the Ebola crisis.

Hershey integrates CSR into its business strategies through its focus on Shared Goodness, helping children and their communities around the world achieve a better life and bright future.

The Civic 50 recognition comes on the heels of Hershey’s inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Index, CEO J.P. Bilbrey’s recognition as CR Magazine’s Responsible CEO of the Year and Hershey’s Cocoalink program winning the P3 Impact Award for the most effective socially responsible public/private partnership program.

“Corporate civic engagement is on the rise and it’s being led by the forward-thinking businesses included on The Civic 50 list,” says Neil Bush, chairman of Points of Light. “The correlation their efforts showcase between community engagement and employee retention, productivity and overall bottom-line benefits continues to prove that businesses that do good, do well.”

The Civic 50 was created in 2012 to measure corporate civic engagement and it recognizes companies that incorporate socially responsible practices and community leadership into their culture. 

Read more: Hershey acquires iconic Canadian candy maker Allan Candy Co.