Philadelphia - The volunteer and service communities honored outstanding corporate citizenship today during the closing general session of National Conference on Volunteering and Service. The businesses were honored for marshaling hundreds of thousands of volunteers, donating generously from their financial resources, and putting their research teams to work to develop solutions to the nation’s - and the world’s - most pressing social needs.

Former President George H.W. Bush, whose personal commitment to service led to the establishment of the Points of Light Foundation, gave the closing address. Looking back over his 83 years of life, Bush said, “I see more clearly than ever the importance of serving others.” Bush congratulated the Points of Light Foundation and the Hands On Network on the merger of the two organizations, which was announced Monday. “This is a time of change, excitement, and promise for the volunteer community,” Bush said.

Accompanied by his son Neil, the incoming vice chairman of the Foundation, the former president presented the George Bush Corporate Leadership Award to Samuel J. Palmisano, Chairman of the Board and CEO of IBM. The company supports employee volunteering in a variety of ways, with 75,000 IBM employees and retirees devoting 4 million hours to volunteering last year. Terming literacy as “a basic civil right,” Palmisano described charging its research department to develop a voice-activated method of teaching literacy that is now available through hundreds of schools and libraries. In addition, the company provides its employees with Web-based tools to expand their volunteer leadership skills. “It’s important that we engage our people—that’s the best way to serve,” Palmisano said.

In accepting the 2007 Spirit of Service Corporate Award from the Corporation for National and Community Service, Jeff Swartz, president and CEO of Timberland, recalled his own introduction to corporate service. His concept of corporate citizenship was transformed when he spent a day painting houses with City Year corps members in 1989. The corporate climate has changed since that time, Swartz stressed. “It is the business of business to create social change. Business has a role in building the beloved community. We can earn a profit and make a difference—all in a long day at the office,” he said.

Joe Banner, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Eagles, and Philip H. Behr, managing partner at Navigator Equity Partners, received the Foundation’s Daily Point of Light award in recognition of their efforts to establish City Year Greater Philadelphia in 1997. The Philadelphia location is now the largest City Year site, with 200 corps members engaged in service each year, providing much-needed help to the Philadelphia School District by tutoring and mentoring students.

The Foundation honored five companies with the 2007 Awards for Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs. Award recipients are:

• AAA of Northern California, Nevada and Utah launched an employee volunteer program three years ago to support its mission of advocating for safe and responsible transportation and to be a vital partner in community life. In 2006, every AAA senior management executive and 65 percent of all its employees volunteered as part of this program. AAA executives lead department team-building events for volunteers. They host “brown-bag” meetings, share their volunteer experiences, and recognize employee volunteers at special events.
      
• Citi, the leading global financial service company, was recognized for its commitment to community service and its leadership in corporate volunteerism through a dynamic employee volunteer program, its financial education curricula, varied community revitalization and restoration programs, and direct charitable contributions. A longtime promoter of financial education programs to strengthen communities and improve the quality of life for individuals, families, and institutions world-wide, the Citi Foundation in 2004 launched a 10-year, $200 million commitment to launch these education programs in the 100 countries where the company operates.
        
• The McGraw-Hill Companies targets their corporate contributions, social investments, and employee volunteers to enhance the quality of life in the communities they serve. McGraw-Hill supports nonprofit organizations that can most benefit from its skills and resources, with an emphasis on empowerment, innovation, performance, and impact. Twenty percent of McGraw-Hill employees participate in the company’s Community Partners (CP) employee programs, which include its volunteer initiatives. Over the past decade, CP has expanded its program to provide leadership development and project management training, enabling employees to foster stronger business relationships through project management, leadership development, training, and community skills building.
      
• Microsoft Corporation is committed to enabling sustained social and economic opportunities in communities around the world. Through its Employee Community Engagement (ECE) program, Microsoft demonstrates its commitment to corporate citizenship and taps the creativity and spirit of innovation that are the hallmark of the organization. In the United States, Microsoft matches volunteer time with a $17 donation for each hour of employee volunteerism, up to $12,000 a year. In international regions, employees receive a minimum of three days off a year to volunteer. Employees can search and register for volunteer work around the world and track their volunteering online through the Microsoft Volunteer Connection System.
      
• Salt River Project of Phoenix, AZ, ensures the vitality of the Salt River Valley through the provision of low cost, reliable water and power, and community programs. SRP has a strong commitment to community service. Beyond keeping the water and power flowing to their communities, 85 percent of SRP staffers volunteer to empower their neighbors through hands-on help, serving on nonprofit boards, making financial donations, and volunteering on their own time at an estimated 3.3 hours per person per week. Through its employee volunteer program, SRP VOLUNTEERS, the organization matches its staff strengths to the community’s needs. SRP encourages its employees to propose and develop volunteer projects. Projects support individual skill building and reflect the interest and passions of SRP employees. Whole families join in, recruiting young children and teens to serve alongside parents to demonstrate a commitment to life-long volunteering.

The Corporation for National and Community Service improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. Each year, the Corporation provides opportunities for more than 2 million Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their communities and country through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. For more information, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov.

The Points of Light Foundation engages and mobilizes millions of volunteers who are helping to solve serious social problems in thousands of communities. Through a variety of programs and services involving 333 Volunteer Centers and a thousand corporate and nonprofit partners, the Foundation encourages people from all walks of life - businesses, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, low-income communities, families, youth, and adults of all ages - to volunteer.

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