A pair of community outreach projects to support families and orphaned children in the city of Acuña, Mexico, were made possible through the combined funding and volunteer efforts of Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC and Knorr-Bremse Global Care. During the Sept. 16 event, Bendix and Knorr-Bremse Global Care celebrated the opening of a new home for Acuña’s Casa de Esperanza (House of Hope) orphanage, and one day earlier announced a plan to provide houses for Acuña families who were displaced by a tornado earlier this year.

The efforts represent blended support from Knorr-Bremse Global Care, local funding from the Bendix Acuña manufacturing campus and volunteer work contributed by Bendix employees and their families.

Bendix is a member of the Munich, Germany-based Knorr-Bremse Group, a global manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles. Knorr-Bremse Global Care is a nonprofit organization founded in 2005 by the Knorr-Bremse Group to give people in need (through no fault of their own) a chance to lead more independent lives.

“Making a positive difference in the communities we call home is incredibly important, wherever we are,” said Maria Gutierrez, Bendix’s director of corporate responsibility and sustainability. “These are our neighbors, our friends, our families ­— in short, our community ­— and it matters to all of us at Bendix when their lives and neighborhoods are in need. We are very grateful not only to have the support and encouragement of the Knorr-Bremse Group and Knorr-Bremse Global Care, but to have employees who embrace a culture of social responsibility and take every opportunity to get involved in helping others.”

Delivering Hope and Housing to Local Orphans

The new 8,073-square-foot Casa de Esperanza (House of Hope) improves the physical infrastructure, security and living conditions for approximately 55 children, replacing an outdated, smaller building that had fallen significantly out of compliance with building codes, lacked security and could not accommodate children with special needs. Bendix and Knorr-Bremse Global Care contributed a combined $278,000 toward the $428,000 construction costs. Another Acuña manufacturer, Gentherm, contributed $150,000.

Construction began in July 2014, and a year later, a team of 50 Bendix volunteers and their families spent a day during a weekend in July 2015 helping paint the building’s interior.

“Bendix and its Acuña employees have regularly sponsored and volunteered support of House of Hope’s activities,” said Gutierrez. “In working with the orphanage, we saw it had good support from a dedicated administration, and we’re pleased to help them address what had become a dire need for a new safe and welcoming home for the children they keep in their care.”

Children moved into the new House of Hope on Sept. 1.

Further Extending Tornado Relief Support

The newly announced home construction project will involve complete construction of houses for local families who lost their homes during a devastating tornado on May 25. An F4 tornado with winds estimated at above 200 mph tore through the area, destroying or severely damaging approximately 1,000 homes.

Casas por Cristo, a nonprofit that assembles volunteer teams and builds homes for families in need, sought approximately $700,000 to build 100 houses for Acuña families whose homes were not eligible for repair or reconstruction by the Mexican federal government.

Knorr-Bremse Global Care committed €150,000 ($170,440 USD) to the project, which will go toward the construction of 23 homes. Bendix volunteers will donate their time and efforts in the construction of at least four of the new houses. The local government has agreed to donate the land where the homes will be built.

Construction of the homes will begin when the local government finalizes the land donation and has provided a final list of vetted families who lost their homes during the tornado and will not have them reconstructed by Infonavit (a federal government agency). Casas por Cristo expects the project to be completed no later than the close of 2016.

The Bendix Acuña operation also has funded the construction of a community library, infrastructure improvements at nearby schools and local playground cleanup and installation.