Our Communities
Our Culture of Giving
The roots of GATX’s ongoing commitment to our communities can be traced back to September 1926, when our railcars delivered relief to disaster victims after a massive hurricane devastated Miami. Following the hurricane, a joint venture of the company delivered 50,000 gallons of donated pasteurized milk in its railcars within three days.
Decades later, our goal is to be a responsible corporate citizen serving the communities where our employees live and work. We are dedicated to maintaining the safety of our communities and to fostering a culture of giving back through our volunteer and giving programs.
GATX employees are generous with their time, talent, and treasure. We support them in their efforts by organizing opportunities for them to volunteer in their communities through mentoring, refurbishing classrooms and schools,
working at foodbanks and shelters, and participating in food, clothing and toy collection drives, among other activities.
Additionally, because we know giving back is deeply personal, we offer eligible employees at our North America corporate locations a “Do Good Day”—eight hours of paid time off to volunteer for a cause that’s uniquely meaningful to them. At the corporate level, GATX supports important causes in our communities through multi-year pledges, annual operating grants, and event sponsorships.
Partnership Highlights
Make-A-Wish® Illinois
GATX’s partnership with Make-A-Wish® Illinois started with employee giving more than two decades ago. Since then, through employee and corporate contributions as well as employee fundraising efforts, we have donated more than $5 million to support the organization’s mission to grant wishes to children with life-threatening conditions. These contributions make us the largest corporate partner to Make-A-Wish® Illinois.
Partnership Highlights
Big Shoulders Fund
GATX has a long history of supporting Big Shoulders Fund. In 2015, we deepened our commitment when we became a participant in the Big Shoulder Fund’s Patrons Program, which established a direct and long-term relationship between GATX and two Chicago schools, Academy of St. Benedict the African in Englewood and St. Margaret of Scotland in Washington Heights, with the goal of providing these schools with the tools and funding to ensure every child gets the best education possible. Since then, GATX employees have mentored more than 150 students at these schools, meeting with them monthly as well as accompanying them to sporting games and other events. In 2020, we started a GATX Scholarship to continue supporting the students at these schools as they progress through their education.
Training for our Customers, Railroads, and First Responders
As a leader in the industry and a Responsible Care partner, GATX offers training on the proper use of our equipment and on regulations that impact our business. We hold training sessions at our headquarters and at locations across North America through the use of our TankTrainer™ mobile classroom. The TankTrainer mobile classroom is a 33,500-gallon tank car outfitted with a variety of fittings, coatings and configurations. Since 1993, the TankTrainer has provided a one-of-a-kind learning experience to thousands of employees, customers, rail and yard workers, first responders and others.
