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“One is only happy in proportion as he makes others feel happy. And only useful as he contributes his influences for the finer callings in life.”
Hershey wrote this passage on April 9, 1879, when he was just 21 years old. Over the next 67 years until his death, Hershey would dedicate himself not only to establishing the world’s most successful chocolate company, but also to caring about those around him – customers, employees, and the community at large. Hershey recognized that having their support was not only crucial to his success, but he also felt that giving back was his moral obligation.
The first major project that was near and dear to Hershey’s heart to which he devoted a large chunk of his chocolate fortune was the construction of the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania. Since he had decided to build his factory on farmland outside any major town, he realized that in order to attract workers, he would need to provide a place for them to live. But, he was also wary of the pitfalls of other ‘company towns’, and wanted to make his town warmer and more inviting, ensuring his workers felt like they were truly at home.
Together with a Lancaster engineer, Hershey drew up plans for a pleasant community, surrounded by trees with all the amenities his workers could possibly need. As the town grew, Hershey added new services, schools, banks and a transportation system, making sure his workers were taken care of. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Hershey created a Great Building Campaign in the town, providing over 600 stable jobs in this difficult time. He would later proudly boast that no workers in Hershey lost their jobs during the Depression. Workers were also given the right to veto Hershey’s ideas, demonstrating the equality with which they were treated.
Throughout his life, Hershey showed a genuine concern for his workers’ welfare, both because it made good business sense to have happy employees, and because he was sincere in caring for those who were helping him succeed. Hershey’s own difficult childhood also inspired him to give back to the community around him, particularly to disadvantaged children, by creating the Hershey Industrial School (afterward, renamed The Milton Hershey School). Today, the school provides free education and a home to over 1,200 underprivileged youth. “If we had helped a hundred children it would have all been worthwhile,” Hershey said of this initiative.
Hershey later created The M.S. Hershey Foundation, which supports the Hershey Museum, Hershey Gardens, the Hershey Theatre and the Hershey Community Archives. He also donated $50 million towards the creation of The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at the Pennsylvania State University.
The wealth that Hershey had amassed throughout his career enabled him to devote much of his life to philanthropy. But, it was his sense of concern for others that made him do it. Both because it made good business sense and because he felt compelled as a fellow human being, Hershey demonstrated that giving back to others is indeed one of the hallmarks of a successful entrepreneur.
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Milton Hershey Video - Company towns have often been depicted as locations of worker exploitation. The 1950s song, Sixteen Tons, popularized by Tennessee Ernie Ford (and easily found on the web) reinforces that idea. Hershey, Pennsylvania had a different reputation, however. But it did not escape the labor unrest that swept the U.S. in the 1930s.
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