Pulling together to take care of our home
A 500-year flood during a global pandemic … an unprecedented event during unprecedented times.
This would test anyone’s – any community’s – resolve. But we are up to the task. And we will work together to overcome these challenges.
Keeping our people, the environment and the broader global community safe – including everyone here in the Great Lakes Bay Region – has been our top priority since the beginning of this pandemic. Since our founding. It’s no different now.
Earlier this week, after days of heavy rainfall, two dams breached just north of our Midland, Michigan global headquarters. This required the evacuation of thousands of local residents, brought life-threatening flooding to area homes and businesses, and forced us to implement our emergency procedures.
Around the community, there have been no reported deaths or major injuries as a result of the flooding. That’s due in large part to the quick response of our government officials and community partners evacuating more than 11,000 people in less than 12 hours.
Additionally, our site has seen no major impacts to our operations, our ability to keep people and our environment safe, or our ability to serve our stakeholders and customers. We learned from the 1986 flood. There have been a lot of changes and improvements made since then. And, as we looked at the models, we planned for the worst-case scenario, enacting emergency procedures early and taking proactive measures quickly in an effort to mitigate the impact. We have now begun executing site recovery plans as the situation safely allows.
A 500-year flood during a global pandemic … an unprecedented event during unprecedented times.
However, we’ve all seen the photos and videos in the news and on social media … property damage … lost homes … devastated local business.
That’s our main focus now – the recovery and clean-up efforts. Building back stronger together.
Michigan’s Great Lakes Bay Region has been Dow’s home for more than 120 years. Dow’s success over this time has been reinforced by the region’s success. The local community and its members are all a part of Team Dow. We’re a product of this community’s spirit – how everybody pulls together – and we’re so thankful to be a part of that.
In that spirit, today, we announced we are donating $1 million in disaster relief funding for flood recovery. These efforts will include donating:
- $250,000 towards a new Dow Employee Assistance Fund at the Midland Area Community Foundation, which will help Dow employees who have suffered an emergency hardship as a direct result from the flooding;
- $250,000 to the United Way of Midland County’s Rise Together Fund, which has been graciously matched by the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation.
- $500,000 for future needs that surface throughout the recovery and rebuilding phase.
Additionally, we will continue to work with our community partners to offer volunteer assistance in accordance with COVID-19 health and safety policies.
Team Dow will be here supporting the Great Lakes Bay Region throughout these recovery efforts. This is our home.
Throughout the pandemic, we’ve been using the hashtag #DowStrong on social media to share stories about the company’s resilience.
That resilience is thanks in large part to our home community’s resilience. This region is strong.
So, we’ll pull together; we’ll get through this. And, together, we’ll come out the other side stronger than ever.
Jim Fitterling, Chairman and CEO
#GLBRStrong #DowStrong