PotashCorp-Aurora has proved time and again its dedication to the surrounding community and continues to fulfill its stated duty to support it.

Most recently, the company supplied every student and staff member at S.W. Snowden Elementary School with a winter jacket embellished with the school’s Trojan logo — a total of about 250 jackets.

More importantly, this act of generosity was unsolicited, as PotashCorp approached the school about making the donation just because they noticed good things happening at the school. S.W. Snowden students and staff were elated to receive the jackets, and even decided to pay forward the generosity with the Cash for Coats winter coat drive to help other students in need.

In the recent past, PotashCorp-Aurora has given invaluable support for Bright Futures Beaufort County, an organization dedicated to meeting students’ needs, donated $325,000 for a training facility for firefighters in Aurora and provided funding for Arts of the Pamlico, to name only a few.

All of these donations have been important for each of the organizations receiving them, and it is notable that the money is going toward many different aspects of the Beaufort County community — education, public safety and the arts.

It is acts of kindness like these that set a company apart from all of the others. PotashCorp-Aurora continues to show there is more to business than just making a profit. Part of the success of a business comes from its leaders reaching out to the people around them and treating them as neighbors. As the saying goes, one can catch more flies with honey, and if a business pulls together with the surrounding residents, then a lot of beneficial things will be sure to come of the partnership.

Beaufort County is lucky to have businesses that support the community and want to be an active part of it. PotashCorp-Aurora is just one of many offering support to the county’s residents. They set a precedent for putting the community first.