Employee-Directed Giving
Air Products believes strongly in giving employees a say in directing their charitable contributions. For this reason, each United Way contribution is matched at $.50 on the dollar. Employees who make a gift and designate it to a nonprofit human service agency can then benefit, because Air Products’ matching funds follow the gift to that agency. Through our matching gifts program, employees may also direct the company’s match to their Higher Education (1:1 match) and Arts and Culture (2:1 match) preferences.

A Vehicle for Education: Our Hydrogen Bus
If the response to our hydrogen bus is a good indicator, a bright future awaits the hydrogen economy. Teaching the public about the benefits of hydrogen as a fuel is one of the main reasons the U.S. government sponsored the hydrogen-powered shuttle running on our headquarters campus. In just a few months since its start-up, the vehicle has taken the hydrogen message to more than 3,000 residents of the local community and beyond.

The bus is deployed to local schools and universities, senior centers and other community and business organizations two to three times each week as a way of teaching people about the usefulness, safety and environmental advantages of hydrogen as a fuel. More than 50 trained employee volunteers maintain our ongoing community education program.

Students from Exeter High School in Reading, Pennsylvania experienced a ride on our hydrogen shuttle bus following a presentation by Air Products employees during National Engineers Week 2009. The bus, manufactured by Ford, features an internal combustion engine that is designed to run on hydrogen rather than gasoline and produces near-zero carbon emissions. An alternative technology uses hydrogen fuel cells that convert hydrogen into electric power, with water as the only emission.

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