600 Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Volunteers Support 12 Fort Worth Nonprofits during Third-Annual Week of Caring

FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Approximately 600 volunteers will mobilize across the Dallas/Fort Worth area to support 12 nonprofit organizations during Mercedes-Benz Financial Services' third-annual Week of Caring. Week of Caring is a week-long community service campaign that Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, a leading automotive financial services provider in the U.S., has organized for the past three years as part of its corporate commitment to making a difference in the communities where its team members live and work. The volunteer projects vary, all of which will serve the communities surrounding the company's Fort Worth Business Operations Center.

"The Week of Caring is one of my favorite weeks of the year, because it is gratifying to see the impact our team members have when they roll up their sleeves and give back to worthy organizations doing great work," said Peter Zieringer, President and CEO, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services. "In just five days, my fellow colleagues will clock nearly 4,000 hours of service benefitting 12 different community partners."

"It's simply amazing. Mercedes-Benz Financial Services has partnered with REAL School Gardens to build and enhance six school gardens over the years and they've also given their employees time to volunteer outside and help us build each garden in just one day!" said Jeanne McCarty, REAL School Gardens executive director. "Employees turn out in droves to shovel dirt, lay stone, build benches, and plant trees, all so kids can have a great place to learn and grow."

McCarty noted that because of this long-term partnership, in addition to building the learning gardens, REAL School Gardens has also trained more than 150 teachers how to use their beautiful new outdoor classrooms to get more than 3,000 children learning Math, Science, and Language Arts in the garden.

"We could never accomplish the work we do without dedicated and energetic partners like Mercedes-Benz Financial Services," McCarty said.

Project examples include working with underserved students and families; planting and harvesting gardens; preparing food for those in need; neighborhood cleanup and beautification; and helping build a home for deserving families. Participants will volunteer at a community project of their choice with one of the following Fort Worth area nonprofit organizations:

1. Community Food Bank (Fort Worth, Texas) www.food-bank.org
2. Don't Forget To Feed Me (Fort Worth, Texas) www.dontforgettofeedme.org
3. Community Storehouse (Keller, Texas) www.communitystorehouse.org
4. Fort Worth Independent School District (Fort Worth, Texas) www.fwisd.org
5. Kids Against Hunger Tarrant County (Arlington, Texas) www.kahtarrant.org
6. REAL School Gardens (Fort Worth, Texas) www.realschoolgardens.org
7. SafeHaven of Tarrant County (Hurst, Texas) www.safehaventc.org
8. Tarrant Area Food Bank (Fort Worth, Texas) www.tarrantareafoodbank.com
9. Senior Citizen Services of TC (Fort Worth, Texas) www.scstc.org
10. Junior Achievement (Fort Worth, Texas) www.jafortworth.org
11. Trinity Habitat for Humanity (Fort Worth, Texas) www.trinityhabitat.org
12. Spark! Dallas (Dallas, Texas) www.sparkdallas.org

"While the Week of Caring takes place over five days, our commitment to social responsibility and giving back is a year-round endeavor. It is integral to how we define our corporate identity and how we do business at Mercedes-Benz Financial Services," added Zieringer.

Volunteers from the company's headquarters, located in Farmington Hills, Mich., are also participating in week-long projects during Week of Caring. In total, approximately 1,100 volunteers will dedicate about 8,000 hours of volunteer service, benefitting 23 different nonprofit organizations. Since its inception in 2013, more than 75 volunteer projects, spanning 25,000 hours of service, will have been completed during Week of Caring.

Mercedes-Benz Financial Services is focused on building long-term partnerships with organizations committed to creating positive social change in four focus areas: Education, Community Enhancement, Arts & Culture and Diversity & Inclusion. The company provides many opportunities for team members to give back beyond the Week of Caring. For example, additional company locations in Atlanta, Ga. and Fort Mill, S.C., have volunteer opportunities scheduled for later this fall. Employees also have an individual volunteer day, during which they can spend a paid workday giving back to a nonprofit organization of their choice.

To follow the progress of Week of Caring on social media, go to:
Social Media Hashtag:  #everycommunitymatters, #weekofcaring, #MBFS
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/mymbfs 
Instagram: @MercedesBenz_FS
Twitter: @Mercedes_BenzFS    

About Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA LLC 
Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA LLC, headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan, with Business Center Operations in Fort Worth, Texas, provides brandspecific financial products and services for MercedesBenz and smart automotive dealers and their retail customers. In the U.S. trucking industry, it conducts business as Daimler Truck Financial and provides flexible financial products and services for Daimler Trucks North America commercial vehicles branded Freightliner, Western Star, Thomas Built Bus and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America, Inc. MercedesBenz Financial Services USA LLC serves as the headquarters for operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil, and has approximately 1,800 employees throughout the Americas. It is a company of the Daimler Financial Services Group, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, which does business in 40 countries and has an employee base of approximately 8,800 people worldwide. Daimler Financial Services is one of the leading financial services organizations worldwide and was named one of the 25 World's Best Multinational Workplaces by the Great Place To Work Institute in 2014. Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA was also named one of the 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials by Great Place to Work and Fortune.com in 2015. For more information, please visit www.mbfs.com/corp or facebook.com/mymbfs. For more information about Daimler Truck Financial, log onto www.daimler-truckfinancial.com.

SOURCE Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA LLC

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