Social Impact & Volunteering

Social Innovation: The Jeep Honouring American Service Men and Women

Dec 11, 2012 12:00 PM ET
Campaign: CSR Blogs
Photo Credit: The Jeep Website

SANGEETA HAINDL

The Jeep® brand is associated with bravery, American heritage and social innovation. Therefore, it is no surprise that it is a founding partner of the first Newsweek & The Daily Beast annual Hero Summit: an event that celebrates America's deep tradition of service and the contributions men and women in uniform make, on and off the battlefield. This two-day inspirational summit took place in November 2012, highlighting stories of sacrifice, heroism and physical courage under fire.

The Jeep brand's roots go back to 1941 when the vehicles made their social innovation debut for military duty. In 1941, the U.S. Army requested a "general purpose" vehicle (GP) and the jeep was born, which was made a real hero by 1943. It was awarded the Purple Heart medal, a decoration given for meritorious achievement, service and wounds received as a result of enemy action in a theatre of combat. The Marine Corps decided to give the heroic Jeep® 4x4 vehicle named "Old Faithful" a medal for meritorious valour and duty in combat during World War II. Jeep clearly shows that a company that stands for values can create value.

Since then, Jeep has been actively involved in supporting and honouring past and present U.S. military troops. The company has donated $50,000 to the Hero Summit. Mike Manley, President and CEOs of the Jeep Brand, Chrysler Group LLC says, "Given the Jeep brand's deep ties to the U.S. military, partnering with the Hero Summit makes perfect sense. It is the right thing to do. We are always very proud and honoured to support those who continue to keep our nation's freedom."

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Sangeeta Haindl is a staff writer for Justmeans on Social Enterprise. When not writing for Justmeans, Sangeeta wears her other hat as a PR professional. Over the years, she has worked with high-profile organizations within the public, not-for-profit and corporate sectors; and won awards from her industry. She now runs her own UK consultancy: Serendipity PR & Media.