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 Home > News & Policies > June 2002

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 13, 2002

Businesses Strengthening America
Answers to the Call

Who's Committed

Together the corporate leaders who are a part of Businesses Strengthening America will recruit hundreds of corporations to join in answering the President's call to service by the fall of this year. Corporate leaders at the White House today included:

    F. Duane Ackerman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BellSouth Corporation
    Michael Armstrong, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, AT&T
    David Bronczek, President and CEO, Federal Express Corporation
    Stephen Burke, President, Comcast Cable Communications, Inc.
    Stephen Case, Chairman, AOL Time Warner, Inc.
    Raymond Chambers, Chairman, New Jersey Devils and Owner, YankeesNets LLC
    Paul Chiapparone, Vice Chairman, EDS
    Michael Eisner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company
    Michael Eskew, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, United Parcel Service, Inc.
    Geraldine Laybourne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Oxygen Media
    J.W. Marriott, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Marriott International, Inc.
    Robert Nardelli, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Home Depot
    Franklin Raines, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Fannie Mae
    Steven Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer, K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc.
    Jeffrey Swartz, Chief Executive Officer, The Timberland Company
    Sidney Taurel, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Eli Lilly and Company
    G. Kennedy Thompson, Chief Executive Officer, Wachovia Corporation
    Robert Willumstad, President, Citigroup

Each of the corporations participating in the meeting today is making or building upon a commitment to volunteer service. The following are highlights of such commitments, including paid time off for employee volunteer service, sponsorship of volunteer projects that draw upon the skills of employees, and efforts to enlist consumers in service activities.

AOL Time Warner, Inc.
Expand Network for Good, the nation's most extensive civic engagement and e-philanthropy portal, launched with Cisco and Yahoo!, that allows users to sign up for volunteer opportunities in their local neighborhoods and make contributions to any of the 850,000 charities in America.

AOL Time Warner is also creating a cross company, multi-year PSA media campaign to encourage service and volunteerism among youth.

To help deploy mentors online, AOL Time Warner is creating the E-Mentoring Toolkit, the first free-standing e-mentoring software solution that enables companies to institute and manage their own in-house e-mentoring programs that connect employees with under-served youth across the country in a secure online environment.

AT&T
Through the AT&T CARES Program, 109,000 AT&T employees receive one day of paid leave each year for community service activities. In 2001, 65 percent of AT&T employees volunteered in their communities, and since 1996, employees have dedicated over 4 million hours to service. An intranet site provides employees with tools to coordinate community service projects and recruit other employee volunteers, and special volunteer team initiatives are hosted twice each year to encourage employees and retirees to volunteer.

Special volunteer initiatives to encourage volunteerism are held twice a year in April and November. AT&T employees and retirees are encouraged to volunteer in their communities either on their own or as part of a team. Large-scale volunteer activities are planned for major AT&T locations.

BellSouth Corporation
BellSouth Pioneers are employees who will contribute at least 5.5 million volunteer hours this year to their communities and who raised and spent $1.5 million last year on community projects. The Pioneers support organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Junior Achievement, Boy Scouts of America, March of Dimes, NetDay, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

To assist in disaster relief efforts in the event of future natural disasters or terrorist activity, BellSouth Corporation employees in Atlanta are involved in American Red Cross training programs through a corporate partnership with the American Red Cross.

To support those who have been recently diagnosed with cancer, a network of BellSouth Corporation cancer survivors is being established to pair those volunteers with recently diagnosed employees and retirees to provide guidance and support.

Citigroup
Citigroup is working to expand its "Citigroup Builds Communities" volunteer program, which has helped more than 6,000 employees in 20 states to contribute 64,000 volunteer hours to community organizations since the program was founded in 2000.

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, Citigroup created a relief fund to provide scholarships to the children of those who were killed in terrorist attacks. Citigroup has collected over $20 million, including $2 million from Citigroup employees.

Citigroup measures the impact of the employee and other programs it supports and reports those results in an annual Global Corporate Citizenship Report.

Comcast Cable Communications, Inc.
The Second Annual Comcast Cares Day is scheduled for October 5, 2002. More than 7,500 employees in 26 states are expected to volunteer in their local communities that day, and the year-round Comcast Cares volunteer program will expand into the same 26 states after a successful pilot program in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Detroit.

Comcast is using its production resources to create an hour long prime time national broadcast highlighting and encouraging volunteerism that will air in April 2003 and a public service announcement campaign that will air nationally.

In order to expand the Comcast Foundation Leaders of Tomorrow Scholarship Program, which offers $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors in recognition of their community service, Comcast has committed to award $1.1 million in scholarships to graduating seniors in 2003.

EDS
Last year more than 21,500 EDS employees volunteered more than 58,000 hours to support community affairs programs that make a difference in the lives of thousands. EDS community efforts are focused on two priorities: education and bridging the digital divide.

EDS invests in volunteer programs that enhance learning opportunities for children and offer training and support to teachers. More than 4,000 employees volunteer at more than 100 schools worldwide through EDS' Education Outreach program. Through the JASON Project, EDS works to excite and engage students in science and technology, and motivate and provide professional development for teachers. To date, JASON has reached more than 11 million students and teachers around the world.

Every October, EDS volunteers around the world join with clients, friends and family to participate in Global Volunteer Day, a dedicated day for community projects. More than 138,000 EDS volunteers have worked on more than 2,800 projects to perform more than 384,000 hours of volunteer service since 1993.

Eli Lilly and Company
As part of the new Citizen Corps initiative, Eli Lilly is launching a program to encourage its 20,000 U.S. employees and more than 8,500 retirees to pursue volunteer opportunities with the new Medical Reserve Corps, if they are qualified to do so, and to help create a Citizen Corps Council in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Lilly commits to grow upon an ongoing effort in which employees have volunteered more than 142,000 hours to date to reach Indianapolis youth and have awarded 175 college scholarships.

Lilly employees can spend work hours participating in Lilly Habitat for Humanity, Lilly Boy Scout Explorer Posts, Junior Achievement, the Minority Engineering Program of Indianapolis, and Partners in Education.

Fannie Mae Fannie Mae and the nation's housing and mortgage finance industry partners have committed a minimum of $25 million to support the victims affected by the tragic events of September 11, including support funds to help pay the mortgage and rental costs of the families of the victims of the attacks.

In Washington, D.C., the Fannie Mae Foundation will raise $35 million and commit 40,000 volunteer hours over the next five years through its Help the Homeless program to provide services for the homeless and support for special needs housing.

Federal Express Corporation
FedEx Express dedicates significant resources to communities through volunteerism, corporate donations, complimentary shipping, and alliances with major charities. For example, FedEx Express is the program sponsor for SAFE KIDS Walk This Way, which aims to prevent unintentional childhood injuries -- the number one killer of children ages 14 and under.

FedEx is also a major supporter of ORBIS, an organization that helps save sight and eliminate avoidable blindness for thousands of people around the world. FedEx has supported ORBIS since 1982, including donating the cost and completing the annual safety B-Check for the ORBIS DC-10 to ensure its airworthiness.

FedEx is also a major supporter of United Way organizations, raising more than $12.9 million last year through its annual campaign, supporting United Way Day of Caring events at 1,200 FedEx locations across the country, and lending the skills of FedEx employees to help in United Way offices across the country.

Marriott International, Inc.
Marriott's "Spirit To Serve Our Communities" program calls upon 142,500 associates in 65 countries and 2,600 properties to get involved in community service through volunteering and other efforts. Each May, thousands of associates volunteer on the company's "global day of giving," and throughout the year they participate in other company sponsored programs and local initiatives.

Marriott incorporates group community service activities into key annual conferences held for its meeting planner customers. Last April, at its travel partners meeting, planners were paired with a Marriott host and children from local Boys and Girls Clubs for a field trip. At conference in Indianapolis in May, meeting planners processed 35 tons of food at the Gleaners Food bank.

Earlier this week, Marriott announced an innovative partnership with the Senior Corps program to encourage and assist the 22,000 residents of Marriott Senior Living Services facilities to find volunteer opportunities through the Senior Corps RSVP program.

Oxygen Media
Advocacy and volunteerism on behalf of women and issues that are important to them have been part of the mission of Oxygen Media since its inception. Choose to Lead is Oxygen's on-air, online and grassroots campaign to increase the number of women in elected and other community leadership positions, and it includes more than twelve public service announcements that promote women's leadership.

Oxygen employees are given a half day of paid leave for volunteerism and service. Volunteer opportunities were set up for Oxygen staff at several New York community organizations, and it is estimated that 750 employees gave over 2500 hours of service.

The Home Depot
Expanding on a long-term commitment to volunteer service, The Home Depot has set a goal for its employees to contribute 7 million hours of volunteer time in 2002 and delivered that challenge to its employees immediately after the President's call to service.

To help move under-employed and unemployed Americans into jobs at the Home Depot, they have launched a national partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor.

To rekindle Americans' interest in the timeless ideals and principles on which our nation was founded, Home Depot is sponsoring the "American Experience," a three-year cross-country tour featuring an original version of the Declaration of Independence.

K-VA-T Food Stores
Through the National Grocers Association, thousands of grocery stores across the country will commitment to inform and educate supermarket shoppers about local volunteer programs and services and to help them find opportunities to participate in volunteer service by putting volunteer clearinghouse web site and toll-free phone number information on grocery bags, in bag stuffers, and on point of sale signage.

With their suppliers, members of the National Grocers Association will also make emergency preparedness guidance, information and products available to their shoppers.

The Timberland Company Timberland has long been committed to playing a strong role in its communities around the world, and has a dedicated Social Enterprise department to support its service initiatives and to work toward doing well and doing good. In 1997, Timberland created the Path of Service benefit to give all employees 40 hours of paid leave time to volunteer in their communities. As an extension of the Path of Service, Timberland launched the Service Sabbatical, which offers employees three to six months of paid leave to develop professional skills while working with a nonprofit organization.

In addition to the service that individual employees do all year long, Timberland also celebrates service with an annual Serv-A-Palooza global day of service. Corporate offices are shut down and the company joins together to powerfully impact local schools, elderly homes, summer camps and community centers in 20 countries around the world. This year, 2000 employees, business partners and community members joined together around the world to perform over 17,000 hours of service.

The Walt Disney Company
In 2001, Disney VoluntEARS around the world participated in more than 1,000 projects and programs and dedicated more than 350,000 hours to service. In response to the President's call to service, Disney is introducing EARS to You, a "dollars for do-ers" program to make financial contributions to charitable organization based on an employee's involvement and time commitment.

In April, the Disney Adventures All-Stars program was launched to inspire volunteerism and recognize kids who help their communities. An unprecedented awareness campaign dedicated to public service will air across Disney media properties, including ABC-TV, owned and operated TV and radio stations, and ESPN networks, as well as outlets that speak to kids -- Disney Channel, Disney.com, Radio Disney and Disney Adventures Magazine.

United Parcel Service
UPS has invested heavily in helping non-profit organizations build their capacity to manage volunteer resources effectively, including a major gift over four years and the publication of The Power of Volunteer Involvement: A Guide to Supporting Volunteer Infrastructure.

Earlier this year and in connection with the President's Citizen Corps initiative, UPS worked with FEMA and the Points of Light Foundation to host the National Leadership Forum on Disaster Volunteerism to assist communities to use volunteer resources effectively in all phases of a disaster.

For employees, UPS has created a bank of volunteer opportunities covering all 1,700 UPS communities through the Neighbor to Neighbor program, and internship program designed to help managers understand the needs of a complex workforce by involving them in internships with community serving organizations.

Wachovia Corporation
Wachovia gives its employees four hours of paid leave each month for volunteer service in schools and other education programs. As a result, 82,000 employees company-wide can use 6 days of paid time off for service each year to volunteer, and the company also maintains a policy of matching employee contributions to educational institutions through a program called Education First.

Wachovia has also been a part of America's Promise since it was formed in 1997, and last October, pledged that it would support America's Promise with $25 million in financial support and 3 million hours of volunteer service from Wachovia employees.

YankeesNets, LLC
The New Jersey Devils and New Jersey Nets have committed to hosting 'service days' during their upcoming season to promote volunteer service among fans, and to installing consumer kiosks in their arena to encourage and enable fans to find local volunteer opportunities through web-based volunteer clearinghouses.

To support several volunteer initiatives, the New Jersey Devils and New Jersey Nets offer financial support to scholarship programs for students who have a demonstrated history of community service, a Reading and Learning Center at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Newark, and a matching gift program to encourage team players and coaches to support philanthropic efforts.

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