The Neighbor of Choice (NOC) program, which Merck established in the 1990s, is based upon three fundamental principles:

• Listen to and identify the community's essential needs, issues and concerns;
• Respond appropriately to those needs, issues and concerns;
• Establish and grow relationships of trust with community groups and individuals.

Today, Merck facilities worldwide follow these NOC principles.

At the heart of the NOC strategy is relationship building. Merck facilities develop culturally appropriate mechanisms to engage and build relationships with their community stakeholders. Some of our sites have created community review boards, which meet on a regular basis; others host neighbor or town hall meetings to seek input from community members on key developments. In the case of a new facility, site expansion or a major capital project, Merck uses these meetings to consider the potential impact on community stakeholders – whether it is direct or indirect – and to factor stakeholder opinions and concerns into the planning process starting at an early stage. Sites also use community surveys and focus groups with fence-line neighbors and employees to assess community interests, concerns and needs.

Based on input, Merck seeks issue-specific proposals developed by community organizations to address those needs, taking into account the impact of a particular concern on the community, the urgency of the issue, and the resources available to tackle the problem. Proposals are reviewed by local site philanthropy committees, based upon uniform guidelines and funding criteria, which make funding recommendations to Merck. The NOC program follows Merck's philanthropic guidelines, but recognizes that our stakeholders value other educational, civic, art and cultural, and environmental programs and therefore these are considered for funding under the NOC program.

United States:

• In Harrisonburg/Rockingham County, Virginia, a grant from Merck's NOC program supports the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Free Clinic, which provides outpatient health services to the uninsured. The grant specifically supports the Pharmacy and Medication Assistance Program, which provides free medications and supplies to all Free Clinic patients.
• The Giant Heart at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia is the focal point of an interactive exhibit that highlights human anatomy, physiology, health and wellness. A $2 million grant through Merck's NOC program helped to renovate the heart and fund the new exhibit.
• For many years, Merck's NOC program has recognized the importance of school programs that introduce children to the performing arts. Based on this input, Merck awarded funding to classical guitarists and university professors Laura Oltman and Michael Newman known locally in New Jersey as "The Guitar Duo." With support through the NOC program, the Duo started a program in which they work with teachers at local schools in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, to use music as a way of helping children to understand math, science, geography and other subjects.
• In partnership with Merck’s NOC program, the Merck Childhood Asthma Network (MCAN) held a community outreach event on asthma in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2007. The event included asthma education training for school nurses in the Arecibo and Bayamon regions of the island. Throughout 2007, and into 2008, MCAN continues to provide ongoing mentoring and follow-up support on asthma education services in Puerto Rico, which has the highest incidence of pediatric asthma in the United States.
  

International:

• In Mexico, Merck employees and parents of children at three public schools near the Merck manufacturing site—a kindergarten, an elementary school and a special education school—are working together on a project in which the schools are being freshly painted, play areas and classrooms are being repaired and enhanced, handrails are being installed to improve safety, and other improvements are being made.
• In the United Kingdom, schools within Northumberland county are benefiting from a Merck grant for the MSD Mobile Planetarium, an interactive tool enhancing the United Kingdom's National School Curriculum, which delivers astronomy and biology workshops to students ranging in age from 7 - 16 years. The project is part of Merck's Neighbor of Choice (NOC) Program and has been developed to reflect the Cramlington manufacturing site's key NOC objectives to help encourage young people to study science and demonstrate that science is fun. The planetarium will promote and explain established knowledge as well as new findings in solar system science and astronomy, and provide resources that many schools in rural Northumberland county would never otherwise have access to. The Planetarium is self-sustaining in that schools pay a nominal charge for the equipment and teaching staff per daily use.
• In 2008, Merck made a Neighbor of Choice contribution to support the Rainbow Foundation - a social and economic growth initiative in Madrid, Spain, which employs people with disabilities at a center that specializes in the packaging of diverse goods. With Merck's Neighbor of Choice grant, the Rainbow Foundation was able to purchase a cellophane banding machine, install an assembly line and start-up the operation. In addition, the Rainbow Foundation was able to expand its activities by establishing a new production line and hiring 12 new employees.

The content on this page was last modified on September 15, 2009.

Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA, and Schering-Plough Corporation, Kenilworth, NJ, USA, are now one company. We have combined our global operations under the name Merck & Co., Inc. We are working to update our corporate responsibility Web site to reflect our new, combined, global organization.