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Corporate Citizens Building
Sustainable Communities
A Business Civic Leadership Center Report
BCLC is an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
BCLC’s mission is to promote better business and society relations and improve long-term
social and economic conditions by:
•
Communicating the U.S. private sector’s unique and valuable contributions
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Cultivating strategies and practices that achieve positive results
•
Coordinating public-private partnerships and coalitions
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation, representing the
interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and
local chambers and industry associations.
The opinions expressed in the following articles are held by the authors and do not necessarily represent the
opinions of BCLC or the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Ta b l e o f Co n te n t s
Introduction
2
Introduction by James Whaley, Siemens USA
Chapter 1 : Community Revitalization and Economic Development
6
Investing for Good: Capital One’s Holistic Approach to Community Revitalization
by Carolyn Berkowitz, Capital One Foundation
8
Sustainability and Community Investment by Peter Drasher, Altrushare Securities, LLC
9
HP LIFE Builds Entrepreneurship in Local Communities by Emily Veysey, EDC, and Daniela Opp, HP
Chapter 2 : Energy and Environment
12
Building Infrastructure for the Future by Brandon Tidwell, FedEx
14
Committed to Community Growth by Lacy Sperry, TXU Energy
Chapter 3 : Education
18
PNC Grow Up Great by Eva Blum, the PNC Foundation
19
BASF’s Kids Lab Inspiring Tomorrow’s Science Innovators by Scott Sandman, BASF Corporation
20
Social Innovation Takes Center Stage at USA Today by Christie Garton, USA Today
21
Why AXA Achievement? by Faith Frank, AXA Foundation
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Engaging Families, Schools, and Communities to Create Literacy-Rich Environments for Children
by Karen Proctor, Scholastic
Chapter 4 : Health and Wellness
26
Community Centers Innovate to Meet Growing Local Needs by Bev Dribin, ARAMARK
27
Kids Are HEROES in the Fight against Obesity by Kate Rubin, UnitedHealth Group
28
Kraft Foods and Its Foundation’s Health & Wellness Initiative by Nicole Robinson, Kraft Foods
30
CIGNA Challenges Employees to Shape Up by Gianna Jackson, CIGNA Foundation
Conclusion
34 Corporate Citizens Building Sustainable Communities by Stephen Jordan, BCLC
I N T R O D U C T I ON
Dear Readers,
America’s communities thrive when American business
plays an active role. That’s why it’s more important than
ever in these tough economic times that business become
even more involved in helping communities in need to
recover, revive, and renew a sense of optimism and hope
for the future.
Too often, we hear only the bad news of America’s
economic realities at any given moment. But behind the
sobering headlines is a different, more hopeful picture. Here
one can find the inspiring stories of American business’s
renewed commitment to corporate citizenship through
myriad examples of community revitalization, energy and
environment, education, and health and wellness.
For example, my own company, Siemens, is committed to
supporting our communities. Recently, Siemens opened
two factories in Hutchinson, Kansas, and Fort Madison, Iowa
that created hundreds of new jobs that will help realize
this nation’s energy independence and revitalize America’s
heartland. Additionally, our Caring Hands employee
volunteer initiatives support grassroots community needs
nationwide. From grade school to graduate school, the
Siemens Foundation’s educational programs are supporting
the next generation of scientists, engineers, and educators.
And the Siemens Sustainable Community Awards—in
partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Business
Civic Leadership Center—annually recognizes communities
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A Business Civ i c Le a d e r s h i p Ce nte r R e p o r t
for their efforts and
innovations to make
sustainability a part of
everyday life.
We’re helping those in immediate need—and we’re helping
build a strong foundation for America’s economic success
tomorrow. And through BCLC’s Together for Recovery
campaign and other initiatives, businesses are doing their
share to help turn the economy around.
These are their stories.
I hope you’ll take a moment to learn more about the good
work companies are doing throughout the nation, and I
hope you’ll be inspired by their example.
Sincerely,
James Whaley
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications and
Marketing, Siemens USA
Chapter 1:
Community Revitalization and
Economic Development
C h a p ter 1:
Co m m u n it y R e v ita l i z ati o n a n d E co n o m ic D e v e lo p m e n t
Investing for Good: Capital One’s
Holistic Approach to Community
Revitalization
by Carolyn Berkowitz, Vice President of Community Affairs and President, Capital One Foundation
Community revitalization starts with a goal to help
individuals and families, small businesses, and entire
neighborhoods to grow and thrive. Local companies
play an important role as corporate citizens, making
investments and connecting resources to transform not
only the physical environment, but also the economic,
cultural, and intellectual landscape.
At Capital One, we focus on investing in local communitybased partnerships and programs that advance economic
development, affordable housing, financial literacy,
and education. And, we recognize that in order to be
successful, our investments must go beyond dollars. The
corporate checkbook is obsolete as the singular solution
to the complex and often interconnected issues facing
today’s communities. Revitalization and sustainability
require a more integrated approach to achieve the goals
of progress and prosperity, particularly in economically
challenged areas.
To help meet the challenges facing today’s communities,
Capital One has developed a holistic approach, Investing
for Good, to comprehensive community revitalization
through high-engagement partnerships with effective
local organizations. Our multi-faceted investment includes
financial assistance accompanied by volunteerism, skilled
pro bono service and thought leadership through board
service, and executive mentoring. Over time, the Investing
for Good approach brings to bear a variety of resources
and innovative solutions that improve the quality of life in
an entire community.
Some examples of these innovative partnerships include:
• Cypress Hills (Brooklyn, NY): Capital One has
partnered with the Cypress Hills Local Development
Corporation to make our neighborhood bank branch
a community resource, offering financial education,
homeownership, and small business management
learning opportunities. This complements financial
investments, which include providing funds to help
build a 12-unit affordable cooperative as well as
the creation of 18 low-income rental units and six
commercial spaces; a line of credit for the purchase of
vacant land for affordable housing development; and
a philanthropic grant.
• Town Hall Arts & Recreation THEARC (Washington,
DC): Capital One provides an annual grant to support
the operating funds of the nonprofit organizations
housed within THEARC, a 110,000-sq.-foot campus
located in Washington, DC’s Ward 8. THEARC’s ten
nonprofit organizations reach more than 65,000
underserved children and adults annually through
a range of cultural, educational, health and social
Community revitalization starts with a goal to help individuals and families, small
businesses, and entire neighborhoods to grow and thrive.
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A Business Civ i c Le a d e r s h i p Ce nte r R e p o r t
C o r p o r at e C i t i z e n s B u i l d i n g S u s ta i n a b l e C o m m u n i t i e s
services. Capital One’s Washington, DC Market
President serves on THEARC’s Board of Directors,
and Capital One is also partnering with THEARC to
provide free financial literacy trainings, workforce
development and education programs, and cultural
opportunities for families.
• Getting Down to Business (Houston, TX): Capital
One developed this program to provide technical
assistance, alternative access to capital, and a savings
program for small businesses. In this program, our
local bank branches partner with Houston-area
nonprofits to provide classes on topics such as credit,
budgeting, marketing, creating business plans,
financing options, using technology effectively,
networking with peers, and securing insurance. When
participants complete the program, our bankers work
with them to establish a small business individual
development account. Plans are underway to replicate
the program in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
Community-based organizations are gaining momentum
by partnering with corporations to make positive
impacts. With the infusion of corporate talent, nonprofit
organizations are tapping into the well-developed business
skills of their corporate partners, thus amplifying their
ability to serve and revitalize communities. At Capital One,
our goal is to deliver solutions that can make a tangible
difference for the community and each person we reach.
w w w. u s c h a m b e r. co m / b c l c
D e ce mb er 2010
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C h a p ter 1:
Co m m u n it y R e v ita l i z ati o n a n d E co n o m ic D e v e lo p m e n t
Sustainability and
Community Investment
By Peter Drasher, Managing Partner, Altrushare Securities, LLC
AltruShare Securities brings the idea of sustainability
to the financial services sector. For the past five years
AltruShare has promoted community investment and has
been helping institutional investors to achieve market
rates of return while investing responsibly in underserved
communities through its conferences and sponsored
research on community investment.
The latest research highlights community development
banks and credit unions as a means of driving capital into
underserved communities. Deposits at local community
development financial institutions can be a safe and
liquid form of community investment. Institutional
investors and corporations can make a significant impact
merely by deploying their short-term cash investments
to depository institutions located in the underserved
communities where they operate. Deposits at community
development banks and credit unions can be federally
guaranteed. Deposits can represent a safe and liquid form
of community investment.
Headquartered in Connecticut, AltruShare also practices
sustainability with its own profits and presence in one
of America’s low-income communities, Bridgeport.
AltruShare distributes two-thirds of its profits to its
nonprofit owners, two charitable foundations specializing
in community based philanthropy and investment. Over
the past twelve months, AltruShare has distributed over
$850,000 to its nonprofit owners to support education
and economic opportunity in the states where AltruShare
operates. The primary focus of grants has been on
organizations providing after-school programs for
students and job training programs. Grants have funded
everything from providing economically disadvantaged
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A Business Civ i c Le a d e r s h i p Ce nte r R e p o r t
elementary school students school supplies and
mentoring programs to an educational summer camp
program for 30 kids in Bridgeport who would not have
experienced the opportunity otherwise.
In Bridgeport, AltruShare has also operated and
sponsored financial education and job training courses
in its own offices and at the Cardinal Sheehan Center. Of
the first class of graduates in 2007, some now work fulltime jobs on Wall Street. Currently, AltruShare is working
with the nonprofit Wall Street Wizards to bring financial
literacy courses to the East Side Community High School
in lower Manhattan.
C o r p o r at e C i t i z e n s B u i l d i n g S u s ta i n a b l e C o m m u n i t i e s
HP LIFE Builds Entrepreneurship in
Local Communities
by Emily Veysey, Project Associate, EDC, and Daniela Opp, Manager, Social Investments, HP
When Angelica Gonzales launched Evanston Construction
in Springfield, Virginia, she was preparing bids on a
typewriter and estimates by hand. The HP Learning
Initiative for Entrepreneurs (HP LIFE) helped Angelica
access an HP desktop and training in Microsoft Word,
Excel, and Quickbooks, through its valued local partner,
the Community Business Partnership. The next year, her
company produced its first profit, and today, she has 18
employees and sales approaching $2 million.
HP LIFE is a global program that trains students, aspiring
entrepreneurs, and small business owners like Angelica
to harness the power of IT to establish and grow their
businesses (www.life-global.org). It combines face-toface training and online tools to address the educational
needs of trainees. To date, HP and our partners have
reached more than 100,000 students, recent graduates,
and entrepreneurs in over 45 countries. HP works with
leading education organizations to develop and deliver
HP LIFE, including Education Development Center (EDC)
and Micro-Enterprise Acceleration Institute (MEA-I).
In 2010, the HP LIFE program expanded its work in the
United States, awarding a number of its worldwide
grants to 10 local partners in the U.S. Grants included HP
technology, cash, a professional train-the-trainer course,
and access to the global HP LIFE network. In January
2011, representatives from each center will convene
in San Jose, California, to practice delivering the LIFE
curriculum in their communities, to learn about the
program, and to network. LIFE also offers an interactive
portal in the form of an animated city with online games
and eduational tools focused on the business applications
of widely available IT tools. For more information about
HP LIFE in the U.S., feel free to contact eveysey@edc.org
or go to http://life-americas.edc.org/.
HP LIFE 2010 Grantees in the USA
• Community Business Partnership
Springfield, Virginia
• Community Venture Corporation
Lexington, Kentucky
• Microbusiness Advancement Center Tucson, Arizona
• Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center
San Francisco, California
• Western Dairyland Equal Opportunity Council
Independence, Wisconsin
• Hammond Development Corporation
Hammond, Indiana
• Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Women’s Economic Self-Sufficiency Team
Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Women’s Initiative for Self-Employment
San Francisco, California
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D e ce mb er 2010
• 9
Chapter 2:
Energy and Environment
C h a p ter 2:
E n erg y a n d E n v ir o n m e n t
Building Infrastructure for
the Future
(Adapted from TriplePundt.com blog)
by Brandon Tidwell, Program Advisor, FedEx Global Citizenship
Infrastructure gives societies the ability to connect. In the
1800s, railroads enabled our young nation to become
an economic powerhouse. In the 1950s, the interstate
system shaped the U.S. economy for decades. Today,
airports move goods and people from a world away to
our doorsteps. Infrastructure shapes the future of nations,
providing people with access to the ideas and goods they
need to build robust economies.
Infrastructure shapes economic growth. As the world
recovers from the recession, increased investment is
needed to support small businesses, create jobs, and
drive global development. “We need to focus on the
basics that stimulate new companies,” stated author Tom
Friedman in a CNBC interview. “Those are going to come
from improving education, improving infrastructure…
none of that’s a quick turnaround.”
Infrastructure can also enable sustainable economic
growth. Transportation is identified as one of the primary
targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Today,
planners and transportation experts are exploring
how mass transit, high-speed rail, and other modes of
transportation can shift us from fossil fuels to renewable
energy and build the economy of the future.
For example, at FedEx, our delivery trucks travel almost
2.5 million miles every 24 hours. Three times in 2010,
CEO Fred Smith went before Congress and called for an
overhaul of the nation’s transportation system: a move to
all-electric. At a recent hearing before the Senate Energy
and Natural Resources Committee, Mr. Smith challenged
the U.S. to consider how the future electrification of
transportation relies on infrastructure:
“We cannot let electric vehicles turn into another
niche product….To make our nation’s investment
worthwhile and, more importantly, to truly combat our
oil dependence, we must put ourselves on the pathway
toward…hundreds of millions of electric cars and trucks.
This effort is about building a new transportation system
from the ground up in a fiscally responsible, competitive
fashion. That’s good for the entire nation.”
Today, planners and transportation experts are exploring how mass transit, highspeed rail, and other modes of transportation can shift us from fossil fuels to
renewable energy and build the economy of the future.
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A Business Ci v i c Le a d e r s h i p Ce nte r R e p o r t
C o r p o r at e C i t i z e n s B u i l d i n g S u s ta i n a b l e C o m m u n i t i e s
Infrastructure impacts people’s lives. In Mexico, ninety
percent of residents use mass transit, including many of
our FedEx team members. Commute times can exceed
two hours both directions. Today, FedEx is working with
EMBARQ to support Mexico’s efforts to build transportation
systems that reduce the amount of time people spend
in transit while also cutting emissions, reducing safety
incidents, and reducing the cost of doing business.
examples of how our investments today reap economic,
social, and environmental benefits. To advance, we must
invest in the transportation systems that will support
sustainable economic growth, including electrification,
smart planning, mass transit, and next-generation
airport technology.
In the end, we’ll get what we pay for.
In summary, infrastructure matters. If we are to advance
our future, we must take bold action. History gives us
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D e ce m b er 2010
• 13
C h a p ter 2:
E n erg y a n d E n v ir o n m e n t
Committed to Community Growth
by Lacy Sperry, Community Relations Manager, TXU Energy
TXU Energy is changing the way it impacts the
environment, the community, and you from the ground
up! Through its signature Committed to Community
Growth program, TXU Energy collaborates with longtime
community partner Texas Trees Foundation to grow and
maintain the TXU Energy Urban Tree Farm & Education
Center, the largest nonprofit urban tree farm in the nation.
Each year, more than 200 volunteers, including TXU
Energy CEO Jim Burke, plant thousands of seedlings
and transplant thousands of trees at the TXU Energy
Urban Tree Farm & Education Center, which is located at
Richland College in Dallas.
In addition, the retail electric provider donates
thousands of trees from the TXU Energy Urban Tree
Farm to neighborhood associations, schools, nonprofit
organizations, and municipalities throughout highneed areas across the state. TXU Energy employees
also educate opinion leaders, community citizens, and
children on the role of urban forests and the benefits trees
have on the environment—all to impact the quality of life
today and make a sustainable difference for tomorrow.
TXU Energy employees plant trees not only to beautify
the community, but also because the benefits trees
provide save money. Trees provide shading that can
reduce your home’s electric bills and increase your
property value. Over a 50-year lifetime, a tree generates
$31,250 worth of oxygen, provides $62,000 worth of air
pollution control, recycles $37,500 worth of water, and
controls $31,250 worth of soil erosion.
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A Business Ci v i c Le a d e r s h i p Ce nte r R e p o r t
Through its Committed to Community Growth program,
TXU Energy employees have planted more than 160,000
trees since 2002.
TXU Energy is a market-leading competitive retailer that
provides electricity and related services to more than 2
million customers in Texas. TXU Energy offers a variety
of innovative products and solutions, empowering both
its residential and business customers to choose options
that best meet their needs, including innovative energyefficiency options, renewable energy programs, and other
energy-efficient products and services.
C o r p o r at e C i t i z e n s B u i l d i n g S u s ta i n a b l e C o m m u n i t i e s
TXU Energy employees also educate opinion leaders, community citizens,
and children on the role of urban forests and the benefits trees have on the
environment—all to impact the quality of life today and make a sustainable
difference for tomorrow.
w w w. u s c h a m b e r. co m / b c l c
D e ce m b er 2010
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Chapter 3:
Education
C h a p ter 3:
E duc ati o n PNC Grow Up Great
by Eva Blum, Senior Vice President & Director Community Development & Chair, the PNC Foundation
With the United States competing in an economy that
is increasingly based on knowledge and skills, having
well-educated students matters more than at any time
in our history. Yet, the workforce appears ill-prepared to
compete as high school graduation rates hover in the 75
percent range. This is especially alarming given that more
than 20 percent of U.S. workers are unable to read at the
most basic level or complete simple addition.
A significant body of research over the past 40 years
supports the critical importance of quality early
education—starting with preschool—to reduce dropout
rates, poverty, and crime and also improve skills and the
U.S. workforce.
Through PNC Grow Up Great, The PNC Financial Services
Group established a 10-year, $100 million bilingual
initiative in support of quality early childhood education
for children—especially underserved children—from
birth to age five. Through the program—now in its
seventh year—PNC has committed more than $28
million in grants to Head Start, early education centers,
and successful nonprofit organizations in support of
school readiness.
The focus of our grant making is in math, science, and
the arts. Last year, PNC pledged $6 million in grants to
fund 14 regional science centers in seven states and
the District of Columbia to create or expand programs
in science for preschoolers. This past fall, working with
Sesame Workshop, we introduced “Math Is Everywhere,”
a new mathematics activity kit created for Grow Up Great
through a continuing partnership with PNC.
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Many of the grants sustain innovative preschool programs
that explore new curriculum and teaching practices.
Through these initiatives we are helping to stimulate
children’s minds and bodies and provide underserved
children with educational experiences they may not have
otherwise had.
There is a correlation between the health and
opportunities for success for children and the economic
health of a community. Going forward, we will continue
to invest and work toward creating a better environment
for children to learn and thrive.
C o r p o r at e C i t i z e n s B u i l d i n g S u s ta i n a b l e C o m m u n i t i e s
BASF’s Kids Lab Inspiring Tomorrow’s
Science Innovators
by Scott Sandman, Executive Communications Manager, BASF Corporation
Who will find the solutions to sustainably power, feed,
house, move, and keep healthy an increasingly crowded
world? The responsibility rests with tomorrow’s scientists,
so developing the critical next wave of science talent is a
fundamental sustainability issue.
“We are unfortunately in an era of austere school budgets
and dwindling interest in science among North American
kids,” said Robin C. Rotenberg, Vice President of Corporate
Communication, who leads community-based initiatives
for BASF Corporation, the North American subsidiary of
the world’s leading chemical company.
Kids Lab was launched in the U.S. in 2009 at the Liberty
Science Center in Jersey City, N.J. The program was
expanded to 30 additional site communities in 2010,
and BASF plans to bring Kids Lab to Mobile, Alabama’s
Exploreum Science Center, as well as similar venues in
metro areas like Detroit and Houston in 2011.
Upon completing Kids Lab in Jersey City with his mom,
April, 7-year-old Brandon summed up his experience this
way, “It was awesome—science is fun.” Mom concurred.
“As a company that depends on value created through
scientific discovery and derives its license to operate from
a strategic commitment to sustainable development, we
saw an opportunity in this issue,” said Rotenberg.
The result is Kids Lab, a family science education program
being implemented in BASF site communities throughout
the U.S. Based on a concept first implemented in BASF’s
home country of Germany, Kids Lab provides families with
children age 6–12 with a fun and engaging introduction
to chemistry through safe hands-on experiments.
“Including parents is a must,” said Rotenberg, a mom and
former educator. “No one can influence a child more than
an engaged parent can. Their role is indispensible if we
are to inspire kids to further their science education and
eventually consider science as a career.”
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D e ce m b er 2010
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C h a p ter 3:
E duc ati o n Social Innovation Takes Center Stage
at USA Today
by Christie Garton, Moderator/Blogger, Kindness USA Today
Recent research proves that doing good is essential to
building strong communities. So along these lines, USA
Today launched the Kindness community blog in October
2009 as a daily source of inspiration for readers and a
guide to making a difference in new and exciting ways.
Each day, the community blog unearths unique stories
of giving with exclusive interviews, fresh takes on news
stories, plenty of tips, and links to interesting resources
across a variety of interest areas from education to health
to sports and entertainment. But, more than anything,
innovation is the lens through which many of the stories
are shared, and we ask our readers to lend their own
insights and advice to this important discussion. For
instance, on Black Friday, we posted a list of “ways to
shop and help others this holiday season,” creating a static
page that was updated throughout the holidays based on
input we received from readers either in the comments
section of the blog or on Twitter. The initial list drew from
“Facebook Deals,” featuring these following “check-in”
shopping opportunities offered for readers:
• Southwest Airlines: Southwest Airlines announced
today that it will offer the Make-A-Wish Foundation $1
in travel each time a customer uses Facebook Deals
to check in at any of Southwest Airlines’ 69 airports.
Facebook users simply need to use their smart
phone to check in using Facebook Places and share
their location upon arrival at any airport Southwest
serves and claim the deal. Once they’ve checked in
on Facebook Places and claimed the deal, Southwest
Airlines will automatically donate $1 in travel to the
Make-A-Wish Foundation, up to $300,000.
• Old Navy: From Dec. 3-9, Old Navy Facebook fans can
donate minutes to USO Operation Phone Home by
“checking in” to an Old Navy store with their mobile
device; Old Navy will make a 100-minute, $5 donation
to the program for every in-store check-in.
• Starbucks: Donating $1 per check-in to Conservation
International to help protect 5,000 acres of forest. Up
to $75,000.
This is just one example of the types of “good” stories we
share daily at http://kindness.usatoday.com, helping us
build our own community of socially-conscious readers.
Each day, the community blog unearths unique stories of giving with exclusive
interviews, fresh takes on news stories, plenty of tips, and links to interesting resources
across a variety of interest areas from education to health to sports and entertainment.
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C o r p o r at e C i t i z e n s B u i l d i n g S u s ta i n a b l e C o m m u n i t i e s
Why AXA Achievement?
by Faith Frank, President, AXA Foundation
If you type “College Aid” in a search engine online you’ll
likely come back with more than 14 million results.
Clearly it’s a hot topic. The reality is that college costs
continue to be an obstacle for many American families.
A recent joint survey by the National Center for Public
Policy and Higher Education and Public Agenda found
that the number of Americans who thought that a higher
education is absolutely necessary for success jumped
dramatically, up from 31 percent as recently as 2000 to 55
percent in 2009.
The study reports that while a college degree is needed
to compete in the knowledge-intensive workplace
economy we’re living in, it’s becoming less available
to many qualified people. This perception has climbed
dramatically post-recession—reaching its highest
measured point, with 69 percent saying that there are
many qualified people who do not have access to higher
education, up from 47 percent in 2000.
Although these are just a few of the thousands of
statistics available on the topic of higher education, they
show the growing need for corporate citizens to help
build sustainable communities and why AXA created AXA
Achievement to provide resources that help make college
possible through both access and advice.
In September 2002, the Foundation introduced our
nationally focused grant-making program—AXA
Achievement. AXA Equitable, through AXA Achievement,
is now one of the nation’s largest, corporate providers
of scholarships and helps to provide resources that help
make college possible through both access and advice.
Access comes in the form of awarding $1.3 million
in scholarships annually to more than 500 deserving
students—AXA Achievers. The advice is how to start
saving for college when your children are young and the
best methods for saving to pursue that goal.
Adopting this strategy with a national purpose and scope
also more strongly complements AXA Equitable’s various
businesses and the interests of our clients and employees
throughout the United States. Since the program’s
launch, AXA Achievement has awarded close to 3,900
young people with close to $18.5 million in scholarships.
As we approach our 10-year anniversary in 2012, we look
forward to reaching the $20 million mark.
AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (New York, N.Y.)
(AXA Equitable) is an indirect subsidiary of AXA, a French
holding company for a group of international insurance
and financial services companies, together with its direct
and indirect consolidated subsidiaries.
The AXA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of AXA
Equitable, directs the company’s philanthropic and
volunteer activities and works to improve the quality of
life in communities across the country where AXA has
a presence.
w w w. u s c h a m b e r. co m / b c l c
D e ce m b er 2010
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C h a p ter 3:
E duc ati o n Engaging Families, Schools, and Communities
to Create Literacy-Rich
Environments for Children
by Karen Proctor, Vice President of Community Affairs and Government Relations, Scholastic
For 90 years, Scholastic has been in business to ensure
that all children have the opportunity to become
strong readers and life-long learners. As the leading,
global publisher and distributor of children’s books and
entertainment, Scholastic has maintained steadfast
allegiance to its credo, using it as a compass for its body
of work and the way the company operates. Our greatest
contribution to helping tackle today’s challenging
education and learning issues is to provide meaningful
and effective initiatives and materials that help create
literacy- and learning-rich environments in homes,
schools, and communities.
Research shows that children’s earliest years, particularly
from birth to age four, are critical to reading and literacy
development. It is during these years that children acquire
the essential early literacy skills that form a basis for their
later reading success. Such skills and knowledge come
from meaningful experiences with language and literacy.
As stated by noted early education experts Sharon
Landesman Ramey and Craig Ramey, “the irrefutable
evidence indicates that a child’s entry level skills, and the
family’s ability to support a child’s literacy development,
are paramount in early school success.”
Scholastic created Read and Rise/Leer da Poder to
empower all communities to foster children’s literacy
development. With its core in-culture, and bilingual
(English/Spanish) curricula, family and educator training
components and high-quality resource materials, Read
and Rise/Leer da Poder:
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A Business Ci v i c Le a d e r s h i p Ce nte r R e p o r t
• Unites communities around efforts to improve
children’s literacy.
• Connects and builds capacity among schools,
families, and community-based organizations.
• Provides effective and relevant resources for schools
and organizations to support families’ literacy
development efforts.
• Connects children and families with books.
Ensuring best practice continues to be central to the
implementation of Read and Rise/Leer da Poder. Two
Education Development Center, Inc., evaluations were
conducted following program implementations in
Connecticut and Florida. The evaluations found:
• Parents learned that their home environment and
community surroundings—as well as their own
culture, language, and everyday activities—are
valuable resources in helping their children to
develop early literacy skills.
• Parents were empowered to take on more
purposeful roles in supporting their children’s literacy
development by directly engaging their children
in activities such as expanding their oral literacy
development, reading to them, and teaching them
new letters and words.
• Positive outcomes for parents, providers, and pre-K
instructors in terms of enhancing their awareness of
pre-literacy strategies, the importance of language and
culture for learning, and family-school connections.
C o r p o r at e C i t i z e n s B u i l d i n g S u s ta i n a b l e C o m m u n i t i e s
San Antonio Case Study
The San Antonio implementation of Read and Rise/Leer
da Poder is an example of how the initiative galvanizes a
community around reading and literacy development.
Scholastic closely collaborated with San Antonio leaders
on initiative implementation. A cross-sector leadership
committee spearheaded by the San Antonio Public
Library Foundation was created to identify community
issues and develop goals and an implementation plan
that maximized individual and collective capacity and
resources. The leadership committee coalesced to raise
awareness about the importance of supporting literacy
development and increasing access to literacy resources
and support systems for families.
By serving as the catalyst for this community-wide literacy
initiative and by working with community leaders to
adapt and provide various Read and Rise/Leer da Poder
resources, Scholastic helped strengthen San Antonio’s
engagement in the early literacy issue. Key components
of the initiative included a public awareness advertising
campaign, a series of family workshops, and fun literacy
awareness events conducted across the city via the Leer
da Poder caravan, a mobile classroom on wheels.
Impact in San Antonio
Since launching Read and Rise/Leer da Poder in San
Antonio in 2008, the initiative has created and enhanced
literacy-rich environments for children:
• More than 20,000 families have received direct
resources for supporting their children’s literacy
development.
• More than 100 educators/facilitators have been
supported in their family engagement outreach.
• The initiative helped spread the message and achieve
the San Antonio Public Library’s one million library
card goal.
Read and Rise/Leer da Poder provided a literacy and family
engagement platform for schools, organizations, and the
community. For its support of the community, Scholastic
was recognized by the San Antonio Commission on Literacy
with its annual Corporate Leadership Award and the San
Antonio Public Library recognized the company with its
Literacy Champion Award. In addition to San Antonio, the
initiative is being implemented in Florida, California, Illinois,
Georgia, New York, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C.
References
David K. Dickinson and Susan B. Neuman, Handbook of
Early Literacy Research, vol 2.
Sharon Landesman Ramey and Craig T. Ramey, Early
Education Interventions: Principles of Effective and Sustained
Benefits from Targeted Early Education Programs.
Catherine Snow and Susan Burns, Starting Out Right: A
Guide to Promoting Children’s Reading Success, National
Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1998.
Our greatest contribution to helping tackle today’s challenging education and
learning issues is to provide meaningful and effective initiatives and materials that help
create literacy and learning rich environments in homes, schools, and communities.
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D e ce m b er 2010
• 23
Chapter 4:
Health and Wellness
C h a p ter 4:
H e a lth a n d W e l l n e s s Community Centers Innovate to
Meet Growing Local Needs
by Bev Dribin, Vice President Community Relations, ARAMARK
American families are struggling. Across the nation
community centers have been scrambling to fill the service
gaps left by budget cuts and the lingering recession.
Community centers are on the front lines in addressing
some of our toughest challenges. Whether it’s providing
for basic needs, like food to the hungry and shelter
to families who’ve lost their homes, or providing
afterschool and job training programs for teens and
adults, community centers are enriching lives and
neighborhoods every day.
Since 2008, ARAMARK has been working alongside local
community centers in more than 40 cities. Through
ARAMARK Building Community, our signature philanthropic
and volunteer program, nearly 10,000 employees have
gotten a close-up view of local needs as they prepare
meals and teach nutrition education and awareness,
provide job readiness counseling, and revitalize facility
infrastructure. We’ve seen and learned a lot.
We are impressed by how these resource-strapped
organizations continue to meet growing needs. We have
found these organizations to be continuous innovators
that create and test new approaches and find longterm solutions. As we know from the corporate world,
it is critical for organizations to continuously adapt to
remain competitive, especially in tough economic times.
Community Centers are taking up this challenge. For
instance, it is great to see Neighborhood Centers Inc. of
Houston receive one of the 20 Promise Neighborhood
Planning Grants, and we’re proud that ARAMARK is a
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A Business Ci v i c Le a d e r s h i p Ce nte r R e p o r t
part of it. And to witness the development of Chicago’s
Jane Adams Hull House’s Health Engagement initiative
providing eating, shopping, cooking, and weight loss
workshops for families.
To identify, replicate, and recognize community center
innovations, the ARAMARK Building Community
Innovation Awards were launched in November 2010.
During the spring of this year, ARAMARK and its partners,
United Neighborhood Centers of America and the Alliance
for Children and Families, will celebrate the ingenuity of
community centers with four grants totaling $100,000. We
seek to highlight breakthrough approaches that ARAMARK
and other companies can help fuel in the future.
C o r p o r at e C i t i z e n s B u i l d i n g S u s ta i n a b l e C o m m u n i t i e s
Kids Are HEROES in the Fight
against Obesity
by Kate Rubin, Vice President Social Responsibility, UnitedHealth Group
With help from the UnitedHealth HEROES program,
young people across America are doing something about
America’s obesity problem: they are taking charge of their
health—and that of their peers.
UnitedHealth HEROES provides grants of up to $1,000
to youths in schools and community organizations
for service-learning projects responding to childhood
obesity. The challenge is significant. Since the 1980s, the
rate has more than doubled: the CDC reports that more
than 30 percent of young people are overweight or obese
and a staggering 60 percent have at least one avoidable
risk factor for heart disease. Among low-income and
minority children, the numbers are even worse.
“UnitedHealth HEROES empowers youth to find solutions
to the greatest health challenge facing their generation.
When children learn to live healthy lives, they are more
likely to grow up to be healthier adults,” said Jeannine
Rivet, executive vice president, UnitedHealth Group.
survey, nearly 98 percent of respondents agreed that
their HEROES projects helped improve overall health and
well-being, reducing the risk of childhood obesity in their
communities while enhancing student participant work
force, civic engagement, and citizenship skills.
The program is unique because of its combined focus
on service, learning, and health. Older students are
mentoring younger children; students are writing and
performing original plays, planting community gardens,
publishing healthy cookbooks, and organizing health fairs
in their communities. During 2010, more than 20,000
youths logged over 436,000 volunteer hours serving more
than 100,000 people in their communities. In a recent
“The response to the UnitedHealth HEROES program
demonstrates that young people are ready to take control
of their lives and effect change in their communities,” said
Steve Culbertson, president and chief executive officer of
Youth Service America, a co-sponsor of the program. To
learn more about this innovative program, visit www.YSA.
org/HEROES.
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D e ce m b er 2010
• 27
C h a p ter 4:
H e a lth a n d W e l l n e s s Kraft Foods and Its Foundation’s
Health & Wellness Initiative
by Nicole Robinson, Director, Corporate Community Involvement, Kraft Foods and VP, Kraft Foods Foundation
We’re the largest food company in the country. Feeding
America is the leading hunger relief agency in the US—a
smart, high-impact network of 200 food banks. Together,
we are working to fight hunger and malnutrition: the
greatest threats to health and well-being around the
world. Our partnership demonstrates how a corporation
and NGO can mesh different, but highly complementary,
skills and resources to serve a crucial community need.
The program
This partnership is firing on all cylinders—and we’re
always looking for more ways to increase our impact in
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communities. Our comprehensive collaboration includes
thousands of employee volunteers, donating time and
professional skills to food banks and on local governing
boards; community grants to food banks near plant
and sales locations; cause marketing to rally consumer
support behind this effort; and product sourcing. The
centerpiece of this partnership is a 3-year, $4.5 million
commitment to Feeding America’s Mobile Pantry
Program. Building on best practices developed through
a pilot supported by our partnership, Kraft Foods and its
Foundation are funding a fleet of 25 refrigerated trucks
to deliver fresh produce and other nutritious foods to
underserved communities.
C o r p o r at e C i t i z e n s B u i l d i n g S u s ta i n a b l e C o m m u n i t i e s
Building on best practices developed through a pilot supported by our
partnership, Kraft Foods and its Foundation are funding a fleet of 25
refrigerated trucks to deliver fresh produce and other nutritious foods to
underserved communities.
Laying the foundation
Our nearly 30-year partnership evolved from the Kraft
Foods Community Nutrition Program, which paired
Feeding America with USC researchers trying to recover
surplus produce for widespread food bank distribution.
While early food pantries provided primarily shelfstable goods, this program’s findings led to procedures
for supplying fresh produce, meat, seafood, and dairy—
largely missing from diets of working poor families. Our
12-year, $35 million investment in this effort effectively
transformed procurement and delivery systems for
the nation’s food pantries. Thanks to innovations
developed through this program, fresh foods are now
the #1 category distributed by the U.S. emergency food
system. And this helps clients better fight debilitating
diseases that come from poor diets (e.g., high blood
pressure, diabetes).
Today, we’re piloting the use of hybrid vehicles to reduce
energy use and emissions, exploring new technology
applications for inventory and distribution, and
supporting a task force of industry experts examining
nutrition in the food banking system. They’ll document
current practices and ways to improve. The Kraft Foods
Foundation is funding research, including analysis of
technology needs and potential implementation grants,
laying the foundation to further increase the nutritious
quality of food delivered in our network’s communities.
Real-life results
In the U.S., more than 50 million people face hunger,
including 17.2 million children. So it’s appropriate that
metrics and best practices guide the program’s growth
and continued innovations. But the true measure of our
success comes from the clients served throughout the
country. At the FreeStore Food Bank in Cincinnati, Ohio,
staff asked clients to share how the Kraft Foods Mobile
Pantry has affected them and their family. This typical
response came from one client caught in a recessionera gap. “We don’t get food stamps and our income has
dropped in half this year. We couldn’t make it without
your help.”
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D e ce m b er 2010
• 29
C h a p ter 4:
H e a lth a n d W e l l n e s s CIGNA Challenges Employees
to Shape Up
by Gianna Jackson, Executive Director, CIGNA Foundation
Earlier this year, more than 8,600 employees—or 33
percent of CIGNA’s 27,000 employees across the U.S—
participated in a 10-week, companywide weight loss and
physical activity challenge, called the Shape Up CIGNA
Healthy Life Team Challenge.
The Challenge promoted healthy weight loss/
management, physical activity and motivational support
through a fun, team-based structure. It was offered at no
cost through Healthy Life, CIGNA’s award-winning internal
health and wellness program, and was just one example
of CIGNA’s continued commitment to helping employees
achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
Employees embraced the Challenge from the very start,
choosing fun, creative team names like “The Sore Losers,”
“Mission: Slimpossible,” and “Potato Chips to Slim Hips.” It
wasn’t surprising, then, that participants remained motivated
and engaged throughout the 10 weeks, as they shared best
practices, healthy recipes, and tips on CIGNA’s employee
blog; walked and rode their bikes to work; and ran in local
charitable events, such as 5K races in their communities.
Numerous CIGNA sites supported the Challenge by
hosting weekly group walks, including Executive Walks,
Sneaker Days, and healthy potluck lunches.
When it was all said and done, the results were amazing:
Over 10 weeks, participants logged 15,872,420 minutes
of physical activity (that’s the equivalent of 30 years), and
lost 24,556 lbs, or a whopping 12 and a quarter tons!
“I was blown away by the commitment,” CIGNA President
& Chief Executive Officer David Cordani wrote in a
message to Shape Up Challenge participants. “CIGNA is
all about helping people improve their health, well-being,
and sense of security, and this Challenge is employees
walking the talk—actually setting a concrete example
for ourselves, our families, our customers, and our
communities—and providing inspiration to others.”
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A Business Ci v i c Le a d e r s h i p Ce nte r R e p o r t
C o r p o r at e C i t i z e n s B u i l d i n g S u s ta i n a b l e C o m m u n i t i e s
When it was all said and done, the results were amazing: Over 10 weeks,
participants logged 15,872,420 minutes of physical activity (that’s the equivalent
of 30 years), and lost 24,556 lbs, or a whopping 12 and a quarter tons!
w w w. u s c h a m b e r. co m / b c l c
D e ce m b er 2010
• 31
Conclusion
Co n c lu s I ON
Corporate Citizens Building
Sustainable Communities
By Stephen Jordan, Senior Vice President and Executive Director, BCLC
From a community development perspective, 2010
marked the first tentative steps back from the Great
Recession. While many communities still suffered from
double digit unemployment and individual states
like California, Florida, and Nevada continued to be
particularly hard hit, many companies continued to “man
up” and soldier on.
One theme that continued to recur throughout the
year was the idea of companies investing in youth and
in communities in order to break the cycle of poverty.
Capital One continued to build on its continuing
relationship with Junior Achievement to promote
financial literacy. PNC Bank continued its “Grow Up
Great” program for pre-K kids. Business partners like the
Hands On Network, America’s Promise, the United Way,
Habitat for Humanity, and KaBOOM! organized activities
for corporate volunteers that led to improved housing,
education opportunities, financial opportunity creation,
and arts and park environments than existed previously.
In fact, USA Today’s Make A Difference Day has become
the nation’s single largest day of service.
A second theme that captured the imagination of
many businesses was the idea of developing holistic
or systemic approaches to community revitalization.
Geoffrey Canada’s
work with Harlem
Kid’s Zone inspired
many public-private partnerships across the country, as
companies felt like their investment in one community
project like education, was strengthened by collaborating
investments in other community projects like health and
wellness or workforce development.
A third theme that grew stronger as the year progressed
was the desire of many companies to transition from
cash-based contributions to competency-based
contributions to their communities. Many energy
companies made the case that the best way they
could contribute to society was by investing in cleaner,
safer, and more cost-effective operations. One of
the biggest contributions of last year was made by a
biotech company called Dendreon, which has pioneered
Provenge, a prostate cancer treatment drug that has
been shown to extend the lives of late-stage patients by
months, if not years.
As we pivot to 2011, the themes of investing in the future,
linking the fabric of communities together, and using
innovation to address community challenges are likely
to continue and increase in priority. We also expect that
Our goal is to support the development of systemic processes that accelerate the
ability of businesses to be part of the solution in their communities.
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A Business Ci v i c Le a d e r s h i p Ce nte r R e p o r t
C o r p o r at e C i t i z e n s B u i l d i n g S u s ta i n a b l e C o m m u n i t i e s
linkages between public and private partners at the
local, state, and national levels will continue to increase
as budget cuts and economic constraints lead the entire
community investment sector to work smarter, more
efficiently, and more effectively. As the economy recovers,
we also expect companies to continue to invest in their
communities to make them more sustainable, more
competitive, and more attractive in terms of quality of life.
In this regard, we expect employee recruitment,
retention, morale, and training to be a key business
driver. We also think that enhancing community
transportation and communications connectedness
and “cachet” are related to this objective. No one wants
to be stuck in traffic anymore or be worried about
community safety. Everyone wants to live in a place with
rich cultural opportunities. Communities like Oklahoma
City, Nashville, Des Moines, and Omaha are rapidly
adding amenities, while bigger cities like Houston and
Philadelphia are adding to their “green” credentials, and
companies in all of these communities are some of the
biggest boosters of these trends.
BCLC will continue to research and report on community
investment best practices and lessons learned, and
share this information across the country. We will also
continue to promote public-private partnerships, and
work on high priority cases with the BCLC Corporate
Community Investment business network. Our goal is
to support the development of systemic processes that
accelerate the ability of businesses to be part of the
solution in their communities.
w w w. u s c h a m b e r. co m / b c l c
D e ce m b er 2010
• 35
Follow BCLC!
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On the Blogs: www.bclcblog.com
Thank you to our Corporate Community Investment Working Group Members!
UNDERWRITERS:
Allstate
ARAMARK
Shell Oil Company
Siemens
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE:
Abbott
Capital One Financial Corporation
FedEx
The Dow Chemical Company
Patrons:
CIGNA
Comcast
JPMorgan Chase
The Home Depot, Inc.
Contributors:
Accenture Foundation
AltruShare Securities, LLC.
Bank of America
GlaxoSmithKline
Health Care Service Corporation
ING Foundation
JetBlue Airways
Lockheed Martin
Microsoft Corporation
Motorola, Inc.
Office Depot Foundation
PNC Financial Services Group
UPS
Partners:
LexisNexis
Manpower
Maritz
Merck & Co., Inc.
Northrop Grumman
PBS
Southwest Airlines
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
UnitedHealth Group
Altria
Amway Corporation
Baxter International Inc.
Booz Allen Hamilton
Deloitte LLP
Entergy
ExxonMobil
GALLUP
General Mills, Inc.
Kraft
Associates:
Air Products
ammado
AXA Equitable Foundation
Community Reinvestment Fund, USA
Fairmount Minerals and Subsidiaries
Healthy Weight Commitment
IBM Corporation
JK Group, Inc.
PAETEC
Rockwell Collins
Symetra Financial
USA Today
Xilinx
1615 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20062-2000
Phone: 202-463-3133
Fax: 202-463-5308
BCLC@uschamber.com
www.uschamber.com/bclc