HanesBrands and FESA: A Decade of Preventing Youth Violence
A partnership between HanesBrands and Foundation Educating a Salvadoran (FESA) has benefited more than 2,500 students through two soccer academies near its facilities in San Juan Opico and Santiago Nonualco, El Salvador.
Originally published on HBI Sustains
As part of an agreement with FESA, with a goal to prevent youth violence in socially vulnerable areas of the country, in 2014 HanesBrands ground on its sports complex “Viviendo Verde” (Green for Good) at its Textiles and Socks site in San Juan Opico, El Salvador. Funded by its Green for Good program, the complex now consists of a high-quality soccer field, basketball courts and volleyball fields.
HanesBrands launched its global Green for Good program in 2010 – a unique project that uses savings from its recycling efforts to fund vital community improvement projects.
“We know that by promoting sports, we contribute to shaping better citizens, who are more committed to the principles of teamwork, solidarity and discipline, and will hold strong values necessary to build a better El Salvador,” said Ingrid Sánchez Landos, superintendent of sustainability – HanesBrands El Salvador.
This partnership creates opportunities where local schools lack sports infrastructure. For both soccer academies, FESA provided all the support for sports training, including physical trainers, nutritionists and psychologists, to foster the resilience and values of the students.
“This was the first time that FESA launched a soccer school in alliance with a textile company in these locations,” said Jorge Bahaia, president of FESA.
More than a dozen students from HanesBrands’ soccer schools have demonstrated strong athletic abilities and now are playing in the professional national league, with five of them receiving school and university grants.
Mauricio Guzmán, a seventh grader at FESA’s high-performing school for athletes said, “We are thankful to HanesBrands for granting us the opportunity to improve our athletic performance while we play, learn values, and help us reach our dreams.”
HanesBrands wants to build on decades of effort and continue being a positive force within our global communities, where 48,000 of us live, work and play. This important community work is an integral part of how we will contribute to improving the lives of at least 10 million people by 2030.
