Our volunteering program creates opportunities for employees to donate their time throughout the year. Through our events, we can support specific causes that the Bank has identified as focus areas, as well as organizations that our employees are passionate about. By identifying areas of focus and engaging our employees, we find that it creates a cohesive program that not only makes our team excited but also supports DEI and sustainability initiatives. Currently, our areas of focus include opportunities that support affordable housing, community service, economic development, and opportunities that revitalize and stabilize communities. We ensure that this is well-known throughout the company so that when we engage employees, they always have these goals in mind. To support DEI, we leverage our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to recommend initiatives that matter to them and their cohort. By leveraging our own diversity, we’ve been able to make an impact through reading to minority students at urban schools, coordinating Women’s Build Days, supporting a Pride Month community block party, and more. Additionally, we’ve continued to promote sustainability throughout the Bank. We believe that before we ask others to consider sustainability, we must first do the same. At the Bank, we’ve reviewed our recycling program and products we use, installed electric charging stations, and rolled out a hybrid work program – all to support environmental sustainability. In turn, this sparked ideas for our volunteers, and we launched our first-ever clean ocean event, where volunteers worked to clean debris off beaches. Since then, we’ve helped clean parks, planted trees, and more. In short, your company must practice the change you want to see. We find that when we set the example, it helps invigorate employees, so they are always engaged and have our areas of focus in mind.
