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A photo of Prime-Minister Emil Boc during his tour of Smithfield Prod's facility.

A photo of Prime-Minister Emil Boc during his tour of Smithfield Prod's facility.

Photo of our GREEN CORNER, a Smithfield Prod internal environmental initiative.

Photos of children who attended the inauguration of the first park in the locality of Utvin.

A photo of the Mayor of the Commune of Sanmihaiu and Mr. Morten Jensen, CEO Smithfield Prod, at the inauguration of the first park in the locality of Utvin.

Official Visit of the Romanian Prime Minister
On July 17th, Smithfield Prod was honored to receive a special visit from Prime-Minister Emil Boc. He was very pleased with the tour that CEO Morten Jensen gave him, and showed particular interest in the facility, overall operations in Romania, the investment and last, but perhaps most importantly, in the re-launching of the COMTIM brand, a much-beloved symbol of pork quality in Romania.

The Prime-Minister spent about an hour at Smithfield and at the end of the visit he wrote a very nice message in the company’s guest-book: “I was impressed to see the most important pork meat processor in Romania. Congratulations for the quality of your products and for the high standards management team. Comtim goes on! "

Our Green Corner
Smithfield Prod decided to help its employees recycle by creating “Our Green Corner”. Prod employees may dispose of recyclable waste, including electrical and small electronic equipment by placing items here. Recycling practices are not common in Romania and Prod is proud to be among companies that break new ground and recycle for a more sustainable world.

Art Therapy Fund Raising Campaign
When Art Therapy Foundation asked for Smithfield Prod’s help to organize a Fundraising campaign, they heard a resounding “yes!”

An Art Therapy Foundation art exhibition located at Smithfield Prod headquarters, featured several stands of handmade objects from clay, greeting cards, drawings and unique handmade accessories. The artists were adults and children in the service of Art Therapy.

The beneficiaries of this action will be 80 developmentally challenged children and youngsters, suffering from autism, emotional disorders, or victims of abuse. With the money gathered, the center will be able to continue its rehabilitation activities.

The First Park in UTVIN Village
Representatives of the Mayor of the Commune of Sanmihaiu and Morten Jensen, CEO Smithfield Prod, officiated the inauguration of the first park in the locality of Utvin. The event took place on June 1st, a cherished holiday in Romania: International Children’s Day.

The park, financed by Smithfield Prod, was developed on a barren field in the courtyard of the primary school of Utvin by Smithfield Prod volunteers and several parents from the village.

For a week, Smithfield Prod employees, together with pupils from the school, layered the ground, put gravel on the alleys, participated in installing benches and garbage bins, and planting flowers and younglings.

“At the end of last year, Smithfield Prod started a tree planting campaign in the area of Utvin, with the support of the local school. Thanks to the amazing effort and dedication of our employee volunteers, pupils from the school and parents a barren field has become a cherished public garden," stated Morten Jensen, CEO Smithfield Prod.

“This beautiful park is the pride of our school and village, as it is the result of our work, of the inhabitants of Sanmihaiu and Smithfield Prod volunteers.  We are thankful for Smithfield Prod's generosity,” stated Edith Catina, Principal of the General School from Utvin.

Food for the Souls
Three months ago, Smithfield Prod launched the charitable program “Food for the Souls”, aiming to offer fresh pork products to the disadvantaged people from Timişoara.

To date, approximately 3.5 tons of different Comtim products have been distributed free of charge to over 3,500 people within the program.

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A series of photos from Smithfield Ferme's "Back to School" program events.

 

 

As part of the company’s educational program ˝Back to School˝, Smithfield Ferme offered prizes to primary and middle school students with the highest GPA at five schools in Timiş County. The prizes, consisting of books specific to each grade, encyclopedias and albums, were awarded at the end of the school year to a number of 500 students in Cenei, Bobda, Maşloc, Remetea Mare and Alioş. In addition, 50 preschool children received coloring books.

The same schools had been the beneficiaries of another donation at the beginning of the school year, when students received school supplies and educational materials. Over time, more than 3.000 students from 11 localities from Timiş County benefited from this program. The educational program of Smithfield Ferme, which started in 2007, has reached a total value of 120.000 RON ($40,713). The company’s educational program will be continued through other projects dedicated to Timiş and Arad area students.

“We are honored to work with the children from local communities, offering them the support they need to grow and continue their education˝ stated Bogdan Mihail, the General Manager of Smithfield Ferme. He also stressed: “We want people to know that they can rely on our support and that our involvement in supporting the local community is a long term action”.

The donations did not go unnoticed; Capital, the prestigious economic journal, named Ferme as a winner of the “OSKAR Weekly Awards.” The awards acknowledge companies and individuals that distinguish themselves through community support activities and social responsibility. This comes three months after another member of our family of companies, Smithfield Prod, received an OSKAR award for its “Food for the Souls” program.

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A series of photos from the Smithfield Foods Bright Beginnings event on
Friday, August 28th.

 

 

Every summer, the Junior League of Richmond works on The YMCA Bright Beginnings program to provide children from Isle of Wight necessary supplies such as shoes, clothing and backpacks, for the upcoming school year. Smithfield Foods and Smithfield Packing partnered with the Luter Family YMCA, and collected enough money to sponsor 17 needy children, ranging in age from 5 to 12.

We were happy to have the participation of employees of the Smithfield Corporate Office and of Smithfield Foods Executive Offices, Annex, Finance Building, Healthcare and Engineering. The highlight of the event occurred on Friday, August 28th, when our employees met the children at the Chesapeake Square Target. At the end of the day, each child went home with new clothes and school supplies.

Many thanks to our participating employees for making time to take the children shopping:

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The Animex Foundation granted a total of 36 scholarships to pupils and students from employees' families and those cooperating with the plants comprising Animex Group contractors. The number of students significantly increased from the five students enrolled at the Foundation’s beginning. Youths receiving Foundation support delivered good results in school and strove to develop extracurricular talents and interests. The total value of granted scholarships in 2008-2009 was PLN 62,400 ($21,394).

Animex Foundation Scholarship Recipient Spotlight : Katarzyna Brzozowska
Katarzyna Brzozowska, nicknamed Kasia, is one of the gifted Polish teenagers getting closer to achieving her dreams thanks to the Animex Foundation.

Kasia began taking piano lessons when she was eight years old. Her musical prowess was evident right from the start, and she began taking top prizes in music competitions.

At 17, Kasia longs to attend the prestigious Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, one of the oldest and largest schools of music in Poland and Europe. Yet with three other siblings to educate, her parents couldn’t afford the cost of the additional lessons and tutoring Kasia would need to reach her goal.

Animex, which employs Kasia’s mother on a processing line, recently awarded the teenager a scholarship to pay for the bus tickets, food, books, and private piano lessons that will allow Kasia to continue her studies and, she hopes, help earn her a coveted spot one day at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music.