Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) Thursday kicked off its annual Brevard County United Way campaign with the first of ten events that encourage employees to get involved and support the agency.
About 300 employees gathered for the inaugural event at the Harris Technology Center in Palm Bay, Florida, where they assembled 5,000 care packs that will be donated to United Way partner agencies. Four different pack varieties support the United Way’s mission, focused on health, education and financial stability, along with comfort items for low-income and homebound seniors.
This year, Harris’ campaign includes ten events over the next 50 days. In addition to service opportunities, employees will participate in activities that highlight community needs and encourage financial support for local agencies. Harris and its employees have given more than $17 million to the United Way of Brevard in the last 15 years, and last year they were the largest contributor at $1.3 million, with nearly 50 percent of employees participating.
“Our entire community wins when children do well in school, and when adults can secure a good job, manage their finances and provide a healthy environment for their families to thrive,” said William M. Brown, chairman, president and chief executive officer. “Harris’ support for the United Way helps to enrich the communities where our employees live and work.”
The event was organized through Harris’ enterprise-wide service initiative called HEART (Harris Employees Actively Responding Together). HEART encourages employees to volunteer in support of their community by organizing events such as assembling summer STEM kits for elementary school students, providing hygiene kits for homeless veterans and families, and packing food for low-income students.
Harris is one of the largest public companies headquartered in Florida and has about 6,600 employees in 15 locations throughout the state. The company does $210 million in annual business with Florida suppliers, and the state is the center of the company’s research and development activities.
About Harris Corporation
Harris Corporation is a leading technology innovator, solving customers’ toughest mission-critical challenges by providing solutions that connect, inform and protect. Harris supports government and commercial customers in more than 100 countries and has approximately $6 billion in annual revenue. The company is organized into three business segments: Communication Systems, Electronic Systems and Space and Intelligence Systems. Learn more at harris.com.
