Habitat for Humanity and Dow Chemical Seeking Online Votes for “Best Partnership”

MLive

The Dow Chemical Company and Habitat for Humanity International are hoping to snag the title of Best Partnership for 2011. The pair is one of five finalists for the award, which is part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Business Civic Leadership Center’s annual Corporate Citizen Awards.

“The purpose of the contest is to show compelling examples of how a company can tap the power of partnership to help change the world,” said Kyle Bandlow, Dow spokesman. “Finalists companies are a ‘model of corporate citizenship at its finest,’ and the hope is that partnerships seen in the finalists will inspire others to establish similar collaborations.”

The winner gets a trophy and acceptance speech in front of their peers, according to a U.S. Chamber Business Civic Leadership Center spokesperson.
The Best Partnership Award is the only one decided by public vote. As of last week, the Dow/Habitat partnership had over 23,000 votes, which put it in second place with 35 percent of the vote.

“There was less than a percent — about 200 votes — separating first and second place,” he said. “This week, as it draws to a close, they won’t tell us anymore than the fact that only a few percentage points separate the top three candidates, and they won’t tell us who those three are.”

Today is the last day for public voting. People can vote at the U.S. Chamber’s website.

Dow was one of Habitat’s first corporate partners in 1983. Since then, Dow has directly supported the construction of more than 25,000 homes – helping families live in decent, affordable housing in more than 20 countries worldwide including Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Europe, as well as North America. Dow also works with Habitat by providing personnel who serve as board members and also as subject matter experts in energy efficiency and conservation in the construction of homes.

Locally, Dow has partnered with Habitat for Neighborhood Revitalization Projects in Bay City, Midland and Saginaw since 2008.