For many of us, Thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie are fuel for the upcoming shopping holidays. After all, it requires real endurance to complete the marathon of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.
But don’t forget about Giving Tuesday.
Created in 2012, Giving Tuesday is a holiday that encourages people to give back to their communities by donating money to a charitable cause or volunteering for a good cause. The impact has been significant. In 2020, $2.47 billion was donated to U.S. nonprofits by 43.8 billion people on Giving Tuesday.
The last few years, Regions has celebrated Giving Tuesday by sharing inspiring stories about how the bank and Regions Foundation support community organizations throughout Regions’ footprint with storytelling on Doing More Today. You can look forward to seeing more of that content on Giving Tuesday 2021, which falls on Nov. 30.
It’s worth noting, however, that Regions’ associates give back all year long. Through financial support, volunteerism, board service and other community engagement activities, the Regions family continually shows up for those in need.
This spirit of community is particularly evident during Evergreen week, and even though there were logistical challenges with the COVID-19 Delta variant, this year was no different.
Ascentium associates in Houston built a sculpture honoring the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. The canned goods were donated to a local food pantry.
Teams across the footprint were encouraged to participate in a CANstruction Contest, in which donated canned goods were used to build creative sculptures. The Ascentium Capital team in Houston constructed an impressive structure in honor of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. Associates donated more than 500 cans to build the sculpture, which were sent to a local food pantry.
Risk Management sponsored a different kind of donation drive this year, one that acknowledged the difficult situation that essential workers have faced since the onset of the pandemic. Enterprise Risk Governance manager Andrea Carpenter was inspired to organize a fund drive, and her team was able to assemble and donate goodie bags for 175 nurses and caregivers in three COVID-19 units at the University of Alabama at Birmingham hospital.
“Healthcare workers have been doing the impossible, under impossible circumstances, for more than 18 months,” Carpenter said. “When Evergreen was coming, it got me thinking about how lucky we are to work for a company that enables us to do things for our community. It inspired me to try and use Evergreen week to say ‘thank you’ to those in the industry.”
When Evergreen was coming, it got me thinking about how lucky we are to work for a company that enables us to do things for our community. It inspired me to try and use Evergreen week to say ‘thank you’ to those in the industry.
Andrea Carpenter, Enterprise Risk Governance manager
Risk teams also treated UAB staff to a pizza party and created videos expressing gratitude for the hard work and commitment of healthcare workers during such a difficult time.
These gestures made a real impact. UAB CEO Reid Jones sent Carpenter a personal note of appreciation “for the generosity and thoughtfulness of your entire team.”
The Legal team also made a real difference in the lives of those in need. Employment paralegal Angela Henderson organized a donation drive for two organizations, Bundles of Hope, a diaper bank, and Chosen Angels, an organization that provides support to children and families in distressed communities.
“I was overwhelmed with the response this year,” Henderson said. “Our team collected well over 825 items, including diapers, children’s clothing and books.”
Even small groups made a profound impact during Evergreen 2021. Gina Sian, manager of execution and operations in Community Affairs, and her team used the DonorsChoose platform to help teachers in two low- and moderate-income schools in Mississippi get the supplies they need to implement science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) activities with elementary students.
Risk Management associates Andrea Carpenter and Callie Perkins shop for goodie bags as a thank-you to healthcare workers at UAB hospital.
These stories are just a small sampling of the generous activities that occurred across the company during Evergreen week. But some associates were giving back before Evergreen even began. During Frontline First week, when Regions honored our branch associates, some teams took the opportunity to pay it forward.
Donnebra Grant, Branch Manager of the Five Points branch in Jackson, Mississippi, and her team donated their Frontline First celebration funds to a nearby nonprofit. “Even though it was supposed to celebrate us, just the thought makes us thankful – so we decided to give back,” Grant said. “We used our budget to purchase toiletries and also chipped in out of our own pockets to make sandwiches and water to give to a local shelter.”
It’s this spirit of giving and culture of generosity that sets Regions apart. Giving Tuesday is a wonderful concept, and associates are encouraged to take part however they wish. But the Regions team is happy to celebrate “Giving Every Day.”