Material handling and logistics companies give back to their communities

Here's our monthly roundup of charitable works by companies in the logistics and material handling industries:

• Werner Enterprises presented the keys to its new Operation Freedom truck to David Conkling, a U.S. Army veteran and seasoned professional driver who has achieved 1 million miles of safe operation. Conkling will drive the truck on his regular freight routes. The truck will also be showcased at truck shows, recruiting events, and veterans' ceremonies to raise awareness of Werner's military apprenticeship program. Werner hired 1,389 veterans in 2012 as part of its pledge to hire 5,000 veterans over five years.
• The Motorola Solutions Foundation will again provide funding to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education programs through its Innovation Generation grants. The annual program has distributed more than $25.5 million in grants since 2007.
• Ifco, a supplier of reusable plastic containers, has donated a salad bar to the San Diego Unified School District, helping to provide students with a variety of fruit and vegetable options. Ifco's donation supports the United Fresh Foundation's goal of donating salad bars to 350 California schools.
• The Raymond Corp. has donated $26,000 worth of nonperishable food items and paper supplies to the Addison Community Switchboard in Addison, Ill., a nonprofit that helps underserved families and senior citizens. The items were part of Raymond's booth display at ProMat 2013, which included a mock warehouse stocked with pallets of product.
• AK Material Handling Systems has released a video of employees performing the viral dance phenomenon Harlem Shake "material handling style." The company has pledged that if the video gets 10,000 views, AK and its employees will donate 1,728 meals to Feed My Starving Children (fmsc.org), enough to feed a family of five for a year.
• Garrison Toyota Material Handling donated forklifts to the Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee for its annual cookie distribution. The forklifts were used to help the Scouts sort and distribute 16 tractor-trailer loads of cookies bound for troops overseas.