More Than a Season: What Giving Back Taught Us in 2025

We’re deep into the holiday season, so it’s only natural to look back at the year behind us. At MES, our reflections always lead us to the people and communities who shape our work. This season reminds us how connected we are to one another, and in 2025 that sense of connection took on even greater meaning.

We spent less time thinking about milestones and more time embracing the opportunities we had to support others. We also saw that real progress comes from practical, steady action carried out together.

We also recognized that our role goes beyond operations and outcomes; it includes investing in the communities we rely on so they can continue to thrive in the years ahead. And this year made clear that we can do far more when we show up together for others.

Local Efforts with Immediate Impact

Here in Columbus, Ohio where our headquarters are, we continued supporting organizations that address people’s most essential needs.

The Mid-Ohio Food Bank continues to be one of the most trusted ways to get food to families who need it. They face many of the same everyday challenges we see in global operations: supplies shift, demand rises unexpectedly, and the work is simply to keep essentials moving anyway. This year brought its share of those pressures, and we were grateful to help strengthen their work during a time when the need in our community was growing.

We also partnered with Columbus PB&J Helpers, where MES volunteers spent an afternoon making sandwiches for local shelters. It was simple work, but there’s something honest and heartfelt about knowing the food you prepare will be in someone’s hands within hours. It reminded us that small, steady acts of care can make a tough day a little easier for someone else.

Global Stewardship: The Metrics Foundation

Our commitment to caring for communities doesn’t stop at state lines. Across the globe, our work through the Metrics Foundation remained one of the most meaningful parts of our year.

10,000+ patients received affordable care at the clinic we support in India. Steady access to basic health services can alter the rhythm of a family’s life, and keeping the clinic running requires the same elements that support resilient supply chains: reliable inputs, consistent coordination, and a foundation that holds steady even when conditions around it shift.

We also provided wheelchairs, folding beds, walkers, and air beds at no cost to patients who needed them. For many families, mobility is not just a convenience. It is the difference between participating in daily life and being shut out of it. For many families, having the right equipment is not just about movement; it is about dignity and the ability to participate fully in daily life.Because when mobility becomes possible, opportunity tends to follow.

Through Project Green Baroi!, 551 new trees were planted, a hopeful investment in cleaner air, healthier soil, and a more stable environment for the community. Improvements like this echo what we see in our global operations: improving the environment around a system strengthens the system itself.

Together, these efforts reminded us that resilience is rarely the result of a single action. Instead, itgrows from many small improvements, offered steadily over time, that help life feel more grounded for the people who rely on these services.

These moments also shaped how we thought about our work this year, helping us see more clearly how a community and a supply chain often rely on the same underlying principles.

 What This Work Reveals About Our Perspective

As we reflected on these experiences, we found they clarified something we felt throughout the year. The places where communities thrive and the places where supply chains hold steady often share the same foundations: reliable access, consistent support, and people working together toward a common good. These are the conditions that create stability, whether in a neighborhood clinic or a global manufacturing network.

 Building resilience in any setting takes patience and intention. It is shaped by the small decisions we make every day to reinforce the systems and people around us. That understanding influenced how we approached our work this year. It reminded us that our role is not only to address challenges when they arise, but to build the conditions that make them less disruptive in the first place.

These lessons from our giving efforts strengthened our perspective as a company. They reminded us that responsibility is not separate from operational excellence. It is part of what allows us to support our customers and communities with consistency, especially when circumstances shift.And it set the stage for how we thought about our work in 2025 and how we hope to carry ourselves into the year ahead.

Why This Work Matters to Us

Why do we do this? It isn’t for recognition. We do it because it brings us together around a shared purpose. It reflects stewardship in how we choose to use our resources to support others. And it deepens our commitment to Community Support, which is central to who we are wherever we operate.

 Heena Shah, our Chief People Officer, expressed it clearly: “For us, giving back is not a separate initiative or an annual event; it’s simply who we are. It is the clearest way we live our values every single day, and it is what defines the culture of support we build together, both inside and outside of MES.”

A Thank You to Our Team

As we close out 2025, we want to offer our deep thanks to our employees. Whether you spread peanut butter in Columbus, helped coordinate medical supplies in India, or simply brought your positive energy to work each day, you made this possible. This year reminded us of what we can accomplish when we work together. We look forward to carrying this spirit of generosity, teamwork, and resilience into 2026.

 Happy Holidays from all of us at MES!