The voters have spoken – Gainesville, Texas, has been selected as the winner of the Henkel Helps contest, which called upon concerned citizens nationwide to tell Henkel why their community deserved a helping hand.

“In June, Gainesville, Texas, made national news.  Our community was devastated with a horrific flood.  We are still cleaning it up,” wrote Lorrie Grewing of Gainesville, who submitted the winning entry.  “Perhaps you can help, and we would be thankful.  Thanks for listening.”

Hundreds of people from all over the United States submitted essays, and thousands of people visited www.henkelhelps.com during the weeklong voting period. More than 70 percent voted for Gainesville to receive the visit from the Henkel Brand Like a Friend Crew, beating out Chittenango, N.Y. and Staunton, VA. The Henkel crew, which will include about 15 company employees, will arrive in Gainesville on the Henkel Brand Like a Friend bus on Sept. 26. In addition to volunteering time and a little elbow grease, the Henkel bus will also be packed with giveaways, ranging from hand soap and detergent to air fresheners and deodorant.  Henkel products include popular brands like Soft Scrub®, Right Guard®, Renuzit®, Purex® and Dial®. 

“The entries in this contest were all truly fantastic,” said Henkel spokesperson Natalie Violi.   “We’re extremely happy to help Gainesville later this month. After the hardship of earlier this summer, the people of this community are very deserving.” 

The Henkel crew includes employees from Henkel’s Scottsdale office, who were selected based on a written essay, community involvement, performance and various other factors.

Social Responsibility
The Henkel Smile program reflects Henkel’s commitment to social responsibility.  This program provides financial contributions to organizations in which Henkel employees and retirees volunteer their time. In some cases, Henkel also offers paid time off to employees to support their volunteer efforts. Since 2001, Henkel has set aside one million euros annually for programs that support children and young people. Henkel Smile has supported more than 2,000 volunteer programs to date and has helped over 45,000 children worldwide in 105 countries.