Mercedes-Benz at school

Subrina Champion, who works in Mercedes-Benz Communications, goes back to school on the third Wednesday of every month. There she meets with a team of teachers and parents in order to find out how the company can help Vance Elementary School, which is located directly next to the plant.

Fifteen years ago, Mercedes-Benz “adopted” Vance Elementary and more recently Brookwood Middle School – helping them with projects throughout the school year. For example, it is helping to finance an air-conditioning system for the gym and to purchase books for winners of monthly reading contests held in all classes. Mercedes-Benz also helps to pay the expenses of children from lower-income families on class trips and subsidizes other projects as well as the parent-teacher association. The plant also helped the school to acquire instructional materials for the students about the prevention of drug abuse. "These are excellent materials that we couldn't have afforded to buy for ourselves," says Vance Principal Karla Griffin.

Other schools benefit as well. In 2007 Mercedes-Benz gave four vehicles to the high school in Enterprise, Alabama, for use as training aids in vehicle service classes after a tornado hit the town, killing eight students and destroying all of the school's instructional vehicles. Every year, Mercedes-Benz grants up to ten scholarships worth US$1,000 each to high school graduates who are about to begin college. In 2000 the company donated US$1.5 million to the University of Alabama and Stillman College, both of which are located in Tuscaloosa.