Our work extends beyond products and customers. For decades, we've strived to lend a helping hand and support the communities that make our work so important. Here are just a few examples of how Watts and its employees have given back to the community.
Watts joined Planet Water Foundation for its Project 24 initiative in March 2021, sponsoring the installation of a water filtration system that provides clean water for up to 1,800 residents of Da Nhim Commune in Lam Dong, Vietnam. Watts also funded handwashing facilities, a mobile disinfection system and a hygiene education program for the local primary school to keep more than 600 students hydrated and healthy.
The recent deep freeze that wreaked havoc in the typically mild Fort Worth, TX, USA area resulted in an urgent need for blood donations, and colleagues at Watts wasted no time mobilizing to help. Site leaders arranged a visit from the Carter Blood Care Center Bus, which spent five hours accepting blood donations from approximately 18 employees, all while maintaining COVID-19 protocols. Employees worked with leadership to ensure floor coverage, and those working from home were also encouraged to participate in the drive.
To mark the annual day of service observed nationally on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, our sites in North Carolina held events to give back to the local community. Employees in Spindale held a food drive and collected hundreds of institutional-sized cans for a nearby homeless shelter. In St. Pauls, employees spruced up a local playground that had become near and dear to their hearts last year after Watts donated a picnic shelter. The group continued to improve the park by cleaning the play equipment, picking up litter and raking.
Watts volunteers from North Andover, MA, USA teamed up in July 2018 to purchase and build 40 bikes, as well as helmets and locks, for members of the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence. Many of the children, ages 7-16, had never owned a bike, or needed a more reliable bike to get to school or work. The event garnered attention from a local TV affiliate, and other local media
Watts employees from the Netherlands came together in March 2019 to give some TLC to "De Mollenhof," a local nature reserve that hosts events and workshops for caregivers and local seniors who lack both access to green spaces and opportunities to socialize. The volunteers performed various tasks around the main house and surrounding green areas on the reserve, including building a brick patio and assembling a fence.
Employees from North Andover, MA, USA spent two days in October 2018 knee deep in other people's trash, all in the name of cleaner water. Employees waded through the weeds and muck of the Merrimack River to remove more than a dumpster full of junk, including an old couch, a water heater and bicycle. The event was part of the Clean River Project, a non-profit organization to which Watts also donated $2,000 for gas, materials and waste disposal costs. The event received coverage in the local media.
Twenty-five women from the Watts Electronics site in Rosières, France participated in the 11th annual Girls' Race in Brives-Charensac, Haute-Loire to benefit the Breast Cancer League. The 5k race was held in September 2018 to raise awareness about the importance of breast cancer screenings.
As part of a longstanding annual tradition, Watts provided employees in Blauvelt, NY, USA with a turkey to enjoy over the 2018 Thanksgiving holiday. Many employees donated their turkeys to People to People, Rockland County's largest food pantry, which last year provided assistance to nearly 14,000 households.
Employees from Watts’ Ningbo, China site participated in a blood drive in April 2019. In addition to giving blood, several employees registered for the sample collection of hematopoietic stem cells with the hope of further helping people in need.
As part of its 2018 recognition of Veteran’s Day, Watts welcomed WWII Veteran and Purple Heart Recipient John Katsaros, now a local author who provides inspirational speaking engagements. At the event, North Andover, MA, USA employees raised $4,000 for the D.A.V. Lawrence chapter, and donated hundreds of wish list items for D.A.V. hospice patients. The event also paid homage to Watts employees and their families who have served or are currently serving in the U.S. military.
When Watts employees in San Antonio, TX, USA learned that high levels of calcium, magnesium and dissolved solids had overcome the drinking water supply at a local volunteer fire department, the company stepped in to help. Employees performed additional water quality testing and a water usage study, then donated and installed a complete water treatment and filtration system.
When a set of 12 promotional soccer uniforms with the Watts logo were unearthed as Watts’ Eerbeek, Netherlands site prepared to move offices in 2018, colleagues knew there had to be a team out there that could put them to good use. Employees quickly identified a local philanthropist who offered to bring the uniforms to a team in need in Gambia, and just weeks later, they were thousands of miles away, in the hands of an eager team of boys who were happy to receive them.