Twenty-four Taylor High School students interning at Samsung Austin Semiconductor facilities in Austin or Taylor this summer will be pitching in to assist the community.
Volunteering with an assistance project is part of the six-week program, a company representative said.
Last year, Taylor High interns helped at Shepherd’s Heart Food Pantry and Community Ministries in Taylor.
“Volunteerism is a core element of the company’s culture, corporate responsibility and vision of being a good neighbor in Central Texas,” said Samsung spokeswoman Michele Glaze in an online post.
She added, “We coordinate opportunities for all of our employees, including college and high school interns, to participate in giving back to the communities that help make Samsung successful.”
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“Volunteerism is a core element of the company’s culture.”
— Samsung spokeswoman Michele Glaze Samsung’s “We Chip In” philosophy views community engagement not just as a corporate box to check, but as a “vital investment” to nearby neighborhoods and its own workforce, company officials said.
Since Samsung broke ground on the Taylor site in 2022, the company has looked for ways to be a good neighbor to the community, including partnering with Shepherd’s Heart, company officials said.
In addition, more than 80 of the South Korea-based company’s full-time employees volunteer at Shepherd’s Heart on a regular basis.
In August 2022, the company made a one-time $250,000 gift to Shepherd’s Heart and three other area nonprofits, but the assistance didn’t end with a single check, officials said.
In 2025, Samsung’s support of Shepherd’s Heart distributed almost a million pounds of food, serving more than 25,000 households, officials said. According to a news release, Shepherd’s Heart secretary JoLynne Williams said, “It is simply not possible to communicate the full impact of Samsung’s generous contributions to Shepherd’s Heart over the years.”
Other funding from Samsung covered basic operating expenses for the food-pantry operation.
“We’re so grateful for (Samsung’s) ongoing support,” Williams said.
The 2026 Taylor High interns begin their program June 15 and are learning that one of Samsung’s core values is people, “which includes supporting the communities we call home,” Glaze said. Samsung recently hosted a “Canville” competition at its Taylor campus, where two departments competed in a friendly competition to build elaborate displays from canned goods.
One department constructed a cruise ship beach scene and the other built a 7-foot bonfire utilizing more than $1,500 in cans.
The canned food items will be donated to Shepherd’s Heart.
The Taylor campus, which is planned to go operational this year, is at 1530 FM 973.
The Austin site, which opened in 1996, is at 12100 Samsung Blvd.
