On May 13, more than 6,000 KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) employees will participate in the bank’s 25th annual Neighbors Make the Difference Day, a day of volunteerism supported by paid time off. Employees will spend the afternoon volunteering on more than 700 service projects in 13 states across the nation, from Maine to Alaska, donating 24,000 hours of time. In Vermont, employees will volunteer at 11 organizations, including the Vermont Respite House and the Rutland Housing Authority.
Burlington: Key employees will volunteer for various jobs at the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelter, Sara Holbrook Center, Community Health Center and Champlain Housing Trust
Barre: Key employees will be helping with a mailing at the Vermont Historical Society
Middlebury: Key employees will be helping with spring cleanup projects at the Counseling Service of Addison County
Rutland: Key employees will be helping to organize food shelves at the Rutland Housing Authority
Shaftsbury: Key Employees will be doing cleaning and yard work at the Shaftsbury Historical Society
St. Albans: Key employees will be planting window boxes with spring flowers for a fresh look at the St. Albans Free Library
Winooski: Key employees will be gardening to provide vegetables fresh food kitchen at Vermont Works for Women
Williston: Key employees will be assisting with outdoor projects at the Vermont Respite House
Neighbors Day began in 1991, when a group of employees in Alaska volunteered for service projects and dubbed the effort “Neighbors Make the Difference Day.” By 1993, the idea had swept across many of the communities Key serves and became an official day of employee volunteerism. It is now the hallmark of Key’s commitment to its communities and a leading corporate volunteerism effort in America.
Key aims for a 50 percent participation rate among employees on Neighbors Day, while the other half of employees remain at the bank to support clients. Two-thirds of the bank’s branches will close at noon on May 13 to accommodate employee volunteers; customers will still have access to ATMs, online and mobile banking.
“This is our way of a saying ‘thank you’ to our nonprofit neighbors for the good work they do. Building a thriving community is a collective effort, and we’re excited to be rolling up our sleeves for our neighbors this Wednesday,” said Market President Don Baker. “Our employees have always been generous when it comes to personal volunteerism and philanthropy. Their collective effort on Neighbors Day is a source of pride.”
KeyBank has been nationally recognized for improving the quality of life in its communities. The Civic 50 identifies the top 50 S&P 500 corporations in the U.S. in terms of time, talent and resources used to improve the quality of life in their communities. Key was named to The Civic 50 in 2013 and 2014, as one of America’s fifty most community-minded companies, by the National Conference on Citizenship and Points of Light.
To participate in the social media conversation on May 13, follow #neighborsday25, @KeyBank on Twitter, and KeyBank on Facebook at www.facebook.com/keybank.
For more information about KeyBank’s commitment to philanthropy and volunteerism, visit www.key.com/philanthropy, or learn more about Key’s culture of service from KeyBank Foundation CEO Margot Copeland, on forbes.com.
Burlington, May 12, 2015 – KeyBank. KeyCorp was organized more than 160 years ago and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. One of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, Key had assets of approximately $94.2 billion atMarch 31, 2014.