INTERNATIONAL CELEBRATES 5 YEARS OF SOCIAL IMPACT
By Haydee Nuñez, head of Social Impact, International
At International Motors, LLC* (“International”), social responsibility isn’t an initiative — it’s a choice about the company we want to be and the impact we want to have.
Acting with our core value of responsibility in mind, however, can’t be done in a vacuum. It starts and ends with our employees and community partnerships.
This year, International celebrates five years of Social Impact as a central function of the company. In 2021, we made the strategic decision to formally recognize our legacy of giving as a core part of who we are by:
- Identifying “environment and education” as our key impact areas
- Shifting to strategic grantmaking to target efforts and measure our impact
- Investing in employee connections with communities
This resulted in an opportunity to engage our stakeholders and work collectively to enhance our impact across our footprint.
With a company’s history as deep as International’s, it’s no surprise that we have rich philanthropic roots. Documents dating back to 1904 show correspondence from Jane Addams, a pioneer of social work, recognizing International for 25 years of charitable contributions to Hull House in Chicago’s Near West Side. Hull House served as a community hub for new immigrants offering education, childcare and social services.
Tax filings later show the establishment of the Navistar Foundation in 1947 which supported scholarships and education initiatives. The Navistar Foundation ceased operations in 2013, but International’s initiatives continued with employee-led community relations and local outreach.
“Back when I started, about eight years ago, we had a small footprint of community partners,” said Megan Troppito, director, Communications and Brand. “Then the pandemic happened, and outreach and volunteering became a challenge. We had to rethink how we approached this work in ways that made the most impact and exemplified our values.”
In 2021, under Troppito’s direction, Social Impact was officially born as a core function within the Communications and Brand team.
Today, International employees continue to show up for the communities where we live, work, and manufacture. Through volunteerism, strategic grantmaking, local partnerships, and environmental stewardship, our people demonstrate that progress happens when we act with purpose and follow through with care.
Each year, we collaborate with nonprofits, cultural institutions, environmental organizations, and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) educators across our operating regions.
Last year marked the expansion of International’s strategic grantmaking model with the launch of the Education Impact Fund. That fund aims to strengthen STEM career pipelines and improve access to workforce relevant learning.
In addition, International’s Environmental Impact Fund, which launched in 2023, supports organizations advancing conservation, biodiversity, habitat restoration, and nature-positive solutions in communities where we operate. We are committed to continuing multiyear environmental investments and completing on-the-ground impact initiatives.
Giving and volunteering remain powerful ways International employees demonstrate our core value of responsibility within our communities. Leveraging our Volunteer and Giving Portal, employees have launched community giving campaigns, hosted volunteer events, and can track their own contributions.
Last year, International employees:
- Logged more than 700 volunteer hours
- Donated to more than 50 nonprofit organizations
- Diverted more than 3,000 pounds of waste from landfills
- Planted 75 trees along the Interstate 244 corridor in Oklahoma, supporting areas near International’s Tulsa Bus Plant
- Cleared 1,254 pieces of litter during beach cleanups in Chicago
- Recycled 1,600 pounds of electronic waste
- Recycled 1,300 pounds of outdated brand merchandise
In 2025, International employees launched a supply drive for homeless communities in Chicago. They raised funds to provide essential items for those in need, and employees donated nearly 2,000 items which were assembled into care packages by 30 International volunteers and distributed to more than 450 community members.
As the weather turned colder in Illinois, and local food banks faced unprecedented need amid a government shutdown threatening food security, employees launched a food drive setting a goal to collect 500 pounds of donated food. International employees surpassed the goal with three pallets of food weighing 1,111 pounds and monetary donations made directly to the food bank.
When devastating floods struck near our San Antonio, Texas, manufacturing plant community last summer, employees in San Antonio quickly organized a supply drive for local organizations to help their neighboring community. Colleagues across our footprint also contributed to an online giving campaign that raised nearly $2,000 in one week for organizations providing aid and relief efforts.
In addition, International contributed another $5,000 to the San Antonio River Foundation to support their relief efforts.
A community partner of International's for the past three years, the San Antonio River Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the San Antonio River Basin through the creation and funding of parks, public art, educational initiatives, and recreational opportunities.
Leveraging the funds from International, the San Antonio River Foundation has:
- Welcomed 74,000 new program attendees, expanding its community engagement across educational, ecological and recreational programming
- Removed more than 62,000 pounds of trash from area waterways, coordinating river cleanups to help restore the habitat health and strengthen community stewardship of local waterways
- Expanded volunteer engagement by establishing a docent program of trained representatives who interact with the community
- Launched and grown programs designed to promote environmental stewardship, health and wellness, strengthening the connection between rural and urban communities, STEM challenges, ambassador programs, and hands-on wildlife and education for students
“It is a partnership and a relationship with International,” said Frates Seeligson, executive director, San Antonio River Foundation. “In the nonprofit world, knowing that this is a long-term relationship is a gamechanger. A one-off grant is wonderful, but a partnership allows us to invest in programs, in people and the components necessary for impactful programming. It really is an important way of looking at philanthropic giving.”
This year, additional opportunities abound to get involved in community outreach efforts as we grow a Community Ambassador Program and leverage our Volunteer and Giving Portal. We are also growing our partnerships to include more of our locations, including education partners whose programs are shaping the next generation of transportation professionals through the International Education Impact Fund.
We’re also proud to announce that International was recently named a finalist for a Ragan CSR Award in the category of Employee Volunteering & Community Outreach, recognizing the impact employees are making through volunteerism and community engagement efforts. So far this year, 163 employees have logged more than 1,000 volunteer hours, bringing us within reach of our year-end goal of 1,500 hours of supporting local nonprofit organizations, schools and community partners through volunteer service opportunities.
Our work is just getting started. The next five years of community and Social Impact at International will bring us to 2030 and will include the opportunity to celebrate the company’s 200th anniversary and 125 years of giving back to our communities.
International’s vision is to accelerate the impact of sustainable mobility, so future generations will see we did everything possible to make a difference. For us, that involves looking at society and our environment as key stakeholders. We look forward to strengthening community partnerships and paving a responsible path forward for future generations.
Learn more about International’s Social Impact efforts.
