SIDNEY — Saturday was a day to give back for local Honda of America employees, who volunteered to help paint the Agape Distribution Center building.
Each year several Honda employees take part in the Honda Week of Service. The week spans the week of June 10-19 and is set to coincide with the Founder’s Day for the North American plants. It gives the employees a chance to give back in the communities in which they work. Local employees with Honda of America Manufacturing, Honda North America and Honda Engineering Group had the opportunity to serve at the Agape Distribution Center.
Ginger Haynes, an employee with Honda, coordinated this service opportunity with John Geisler, president of Agape. Geisler indicated he was happy to hear that Honda had chosen Agape as the recipient of their time. Agape has needed the exterior of the building painted for some time, and it worked out beautifully to have the Honda employees willing to do the work.
“We have done other activities with the Agape Food Distribution Center, and I reached out to our local United Way agency and contacted John Geisler. That’s how we found out they had a little project going on. So, we asked if we could assist them. That’s how we got connected to come out and help by painting the exterior of their building,” said Haynes.
Mark Morrison of Honda North America Communications explained the program as “getting together and, instead of just making good cars and other products, making a difference in the community. We have 15,000 Honda associates that are volunteering over the past week and this weekend to give back to their community. We have over 500 activities like this in 41 states, including activities in Mexico and Canada.”
Honda employees and family members, 25 in all, gladly volunteered their time repainting the exterior of the building at 209 Brooklyn Ave. Despite the heat, the employees wore smiles as they worked diligently.
“I feel like I’m doing something beneficial to help the community and to help protect the building. I was actually caulking for awhile, in the cracks and stuff,” said Honda employee Kate Ruegsegger.
Local Honda employees, from those who work in the factories to those who work in the dealerships, are volunteering locally in Union, Logan and Miami counties as well as in Shelby County.
Agape is a non-profit agency in Sidney whose mission is to “make it difficult to go hungry in Shelby County.” Agape works with various companies to bring in groceries from which qualified citizens can shop to feed their families. The agency also offers a store from which nonprofit organizations can shop for their agencies.
