Featured this week: Ameriprise Financial Inc., Applied Materials Inc., Comerica Bank, Deli Star, Deloitte, FedEx, Fifth Third Bank, Honda, Jackson EMC, Kaiser Permanente, Macy's, Plexus Worldwide, PNC Financial Services Group Inc., Pitney Bowes, Point32Health, Rockland Trust Company, Santander Bank, Sysco Corporation, Talcott Resolution, Texas Health Resources, The Clorox Company, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Wawa, Inc., Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP, Westfield Insurance

The member community convened by Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship is one of a kind. The 500+ companies we serve each year are leaders in environmental, social, and governance action, and the thousands of individuals who make up this network are some of the best in the field! Pictured right: FedEx volunteers put together bags of rice for Rise Against Hunger during the FedEx 50th Day of Giving event at Agricenter International in Memphis, Tennessee, April 2023.

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Spotlight on You

Kathryn Alsegaf recently earned the top spot on Sustainability Magazine's Top 10 Chief Sustainability Officers list. Alsegaf serves as CSO at Deloitte, where she drives adoption of sustainability programs, policies, and initiatives across the Deloitte network, overseeing and advancing the company’s WorldClimate strategy and overall environmental objectives. She is responsible for the global professional services network’s greenhouse gas inventory, development and tracking of carbon reduction goals, and for external reporting on sustainability. She works closely with Deloitte firms and enables areas to promote greater environmental responsibility, engaging all 330,000 Deloitte professionals in environmental action. 

Nichelle Rachal wrote an article summarizing how The Clorox Company Foundation is promoting community well-being with 27 new grants. "While financial backing is crucial," she writes, "we’re also determined to forge deeper connections with these partners. To that end, our social impact team will collaborate closely with these organizations to uncover additional ways we can help them achieve their goals. This could involve volunteering and other forms of assistance." Pictured right are Clorox volunteers from the company's Celebrasia employee resource group at Alameda County Community Food Bank.

"Central to our foundation’s philanthropic mission is a core theme of health security," Rachal explained. "This encompasses initiatives aimed at ensuring equal opportunities for marginalized individuals and communities. The support we provide is designed to enhance both their physical and mental well-being, fostering growth and prosperity."

Laura McWhorter, President of the Texas Health Resources Foundation, shared about a collaboration with community organizations and school districts the company launched to ensure children in under-resourced areas of North Texas get the help they need. “Studies show that one in four students have experienced adverse childhood trauma in their lives, including risk of homelessness, violence, and food insecurity," McWhorter explained. "THRIVE, which stands for ‘Together Harnessing Resources to Give Individuals Voice and Empowerment,’ is a program that targets those children with a school-based initiative to combat food insecurity while promoting emotional well-being and long-term academic success. A pilot program in Sanger, Texas, proved very successful, serving more than 280 families, sharing more than 12,000 pounds of food, and providing crisis counseling for more than 150 students." The Texas Health Resources Foundation will now replicate the program in the Dallas and Fort Worth Independent School Districts.

LOOK! 30+ NEW Jobs in Corporate Social Responsibility, DE&I, Community Relations, ESG...

Companies Fighting Hunger Across the US and Abroad

Applied Materials employees recently raised nearly $3.3 million on behalf of 54 food banks throughout North America. The Fight Against Hunger is a decades-old, annual tradition at Applied, where employees bring creativity and competitive spirit to the fundraising effort.

To address food insecurity in Applied communities around the world, Singaporean employees volunteered to prepare and deliver meals for the Willing Hearts organization while employees in Taiwan packed food at the People’s Food Bank. In India, Greece, and Korea, employees raised funds for local charities that are combatting hunger and helping to feed those in need.

Activities in China included food packaging workshops, a farm tour, and an online quiz to raise hunger awareness among employees. Applied Japan collected food for distribution to hungry families. Earlier in the year, Israel colleagues participated in their annual Passover Fight Against Hunger program donating funds and fresh fruit and vegetable parcels to economically disadvantaged families and Ukrainian refugees in the country.

In response to the growing need of emergency food support, the Point32Health Foundation donated a total of $700,000 to food banks across the communities it serves. Phillip González, director of community investments for the Point32Health Foundation, said he has heard from the food banks that they are “facing and working through some pretty specific challenges.”

“Inflation is having an outside impact on the organization,” González said. “The cost of food has increased, but also the cost of transporting and distributing the food.” So in response to the need, González said the foundation wanted to help through the grants. These grants went to food banks in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Each bank received $100,000. “As we talked to the food banks, knowing how critical they are to food access in each of our states, we wanted to step up and provide resources so that they can continue to do this vital work,” González said.

In honor of Fifth Third Bank's companywide celebration on May 3, the Bank provided 10 million meals across its 11-state retail footprint through a combination of volunteerism, donations, and fundraising efforts.The Bank has recognized 5/3 on the calendar as Fifth Third Day since 1991, and since 2012 the Bank and its employees have worked toward a common goal to fight hunger. This year’s theme focused on tackling food insecurity one community at a time. Of the 10 million meals provided, 2.9 million meals* went directly to Feeding America®. The remaining meals went to local hunger relief organizations throughout the Bank’s footprint. Customers also had an opportunity to support hunger relief by purchasing a $1 shield of recognition at all Fifth Third locations. Along with volunteer activities, Fifth Third Day featured other key events with local celebrities in Cincinnati, Charlotte, Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, Tampa, Nashville, and Ft. Myers.

"Fifth Third Day reminds us that we have a special responsibility to the communities where we live and work. I’m proud our employees volunteered nearly 118,000 hours last year to a wide range of causes," said Tim Spence, president and CEO of Fifth Third. "On Fifth Third Day we choose to focus on hunger to support those most in need. Thank you to all our employees and customers who are helping us achieve our goal of 10 million meals."

Plexus Worldwide hosted a volunteer event at Treasure Coast Food Bank in Fort Pierce, Florida with more than 100 Plexus team members particpating. In addition to the volunteer contributions, the company presented a $5,000 donation to Treasure Coast Food Bank to support the organization's mission to help families and individuals in need by providing them with nutritious food, hope, and dignity. In total, the volunteers sorted 33,824 pounds of food on top of the monetary donation, which equates to 68,187 meals. Plexus has held similar volunteer events with partner food banks in other parts of the country as part of a larger effort to bring the company's local Brand Ambassadors together in support of hunger relief. As a Mission Partner of Feeding America, Plexus has donated more than $3.7 million—the equivalent of more than 37 million meals*—to support children and families facing hunger.

The Sysco Corporation donated $1 million to Feeding America, to be distributed to 42 food banks across the U.S. as part of their signature Nourishing Neighbors® program where a portion of the proceeds from each Sysco branded case sold in local communities is donated back to charitable organizations in those communities. In Fiscal Year 2022, Sysco also donated over 12 million pounds of food to Feeding America food banks which equates to over 10 million meals.

In partnership with Feeding America®, Ameriprise Financial Inc. brought together its employees, advisors, and clients to make a collective impact in the mission to end hunger. As part of the company’s twice-annual National Days of Service, Ameriprise volunteers packed meal kits, stocked shelves, sorted food, and hosted virtual food drives to support the nearly 34 million people in America – including nine million children – experiencing hunger.

“As the calendar turns to June, children across the country look forward to a break from school and their routines,” said Brian Pietsch, head of community relations at Ameriprise. “For the families who count on school meals, summer can mean three long months of worrying about whether they’ll have enough to eat. For nearly a decade, we’ve hosted volunteer events in June to help ease the pressure families face as school winds down. Our employees, advisors and clients are fiercely committed to their communities and when they rally around a common purpose, the impact is incredible.”

More News in Corporate Citizenship

The Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation announced a $60,000 grant to NeighborWorks Housing Solutions (NHS) for their emergency housing stabilization for seniors as well as their ongoing housing educational programming and support services for individuals and families throughout Massachusetts' South Shore.

“Our Charitable Foundation is honored to support the services and programs NHS offers to families and individuals throughout the South Shore,” said Andrea Borowiecki, Vice President of Charitable Giving & Community Engagement at Rockland Trust. “The limited affordable housing within our footprint continues to create challenges for community members. The educational work and services provided by NHS provide participants with resources to overcome that challenge and make their dream of home ownership a reality.”

The Cocoon, a comprehensive domestic and sexual violence agency, has received a $6,500 grant from the Westfield Insurance Foundation. These unrestricted funds will go toward supporting vital programs like emergency safe shelter, 24/7 access to trained advocates and support groups. Thanks to this partnership and others like it, the organization provides services to over 800 survivors and their children every year, completely free of cost. "By offering no-cost services, the Cocoon is actively removing barriers for those seeking to break free from abuse."

Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a national organization with more than 340 chapters, works to ensure children have a bed to sleep in each night. The nonprofit works with community members to build and supply beds for children ages 3-17 who have inadequate sleeping situations and, who may be sleeping on a couch or floor. A recent $10,000 grant from the Jackson EMC Foundation helped fund supplies for 40 fully-furnished twin beds for children in need in Hall County. The organization identifies needs through school counselors or social workers, and volunteers set up a portable assembly line to complete the process.

Sustainability & ESG Reports Released

PNC released its 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report, highlighting efforts to empower prosperity for all its stakeholders.

"For more than 170 years, PNC has been committed to improving the financial lives of the people we serve and the places they call home," the financial services group shared in a release. "While we've grown in size and capabilities, we've remained true to our main street values - doing business with integrity and respect, making our customers the center of all we do, focusing on teamwork and performance, nurturing and growing a talented, diverse and inclusive workforce and improving quality of life for all our stakeholders. Today, PNC is committed to delivering on these values coastto-coast through our main street bank model."

Report highlights include:

• PNC partnered with Guild to give employees access to a catalog of tuition-covered professional certificates, college prep courses, and associate's and bachelor's degrees to help advance career mobility

• PNC employees volunteered a total of 64,072 volunteer hours and earned $154,000 in volunteer grants in 2022

• The launch of a Minority Business Development Group and PNC Certified Minority Business Advocate (cMBA) program with 1,000 PNC employees earning cMBA certification

• Expanded its previous three-year, $1.257 million commitment to Coralus (formerly SheEO), by $220,000 and launched the new PNC Bank + Coralus Collective, a cohort of entrepreneurs and financial advisors collaborating for growth and success

• The expansion of PNC's PartnerUP program from the Pittsburgh market to serve all 30 high schools in the Cleveland Metro School district

• PNC deployed $35.1 billion, nearly 40% of the total $88 billion CBP committed, deployed to affordable home ownership, small business loans, community development lending, and charitable giving

• PNC provided 1,000 financial education classes reaching more than 18,600 LMI individuals

• Saved its customers more than $425 million in overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees

• Increased its commitment to mobilize environmental financing from $20 billion to $30 billion

  • $9.1 Billion Environmental finance pledge committed (of $30B)

• Established new environmental targets inclusive of the BBVA USA footprint with a 2022 base year

Members on the Move

More Corporate Citizens Enrolling in BCCCC Certificate Programs

More CSR/ESG professionals have recently enrolled in our upcoming certificate programs, The Fall Summit and Leadership Academy. Congratulations to these executives from Pitney Bowes, ATB Financial, Honda, Deli Star, Feldmeier Equipment, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP,  and more...

A warm welcome to BCCCC's newest members, Kaiser Permanente, Macy's, Santander Bank, Talcott Resolution, and Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical!

We look forward to having these teams join our corporate citizenship community.