BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Regions Bank announced the release of its Social Responsibility Report highlighting a diverse range of community service initiatives throughout 2015. The report, titled “Doing More,” shares the stories of some of the many outstanding organizations Regions works with to strengthen communities and provide financial advice, guidance and education.
“We see corporate social responsibility as an opportunity to put our mission to make life better into action,” said Grayson Hall, chairman, president and CEO of Regions Financial Corporation. “Our associates give their time and talent to support our ongoing efforts to promote diversity and inclusion, to respond in times of disaster and to encourage economic development and sustainability. We’re proud of these accomplishments and hope they inspire others to continue to do more to spark positive growth in the communities where we work and live.”
A video library documenting Regions community activities throughout 2015 is available on the Regions Financial YouTube Channel. Examples of Regions “Doing More,” highlighted in the report, include:
Doing More to Provide Financial Education:
- Manassas High School in Memphis, Tenn., is one of more than 200 West Tennessee schools where Regions offers financial education programs. For Regions At Work® Coordinator Amy Cresswell, the Regions Senior Institute program at Manassas holds a personal interest.
- “Manassas is in my neighborhood,” she said. “The average income level here is less than half of the U.S. average, with 81 percent of the students classified as economically disadvantaged. If we can do a little bit to help the students move past the cycle of poverty and make better financial decisions, that’s something of which I’m proud to be a part.”
Doing More to Increase Understanding of Disabilities:
- Helen Keller was born in 1880 in Tuscumbia, a small town in northwestern Alabama. When she was 19 months old, she contracted a fever that left her deaf and blind. With the help of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, Keller learned to read and write, graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College and drew international acclaim for overcoming her disabilities. Today, Keller’s great-great-niece, Keller Johnson-Thompson, serves as vice president of education for the Helen Keller Foundation. In that role, she shares the mission of the foundation throughout the world and reaches students through a successful outreach program.
- “In today’s schools, you find many children who are different – children who are put aside from their groups, maybe because they have a disability,” Johnson-Thompson explains. “These are kids who view themselves as outcasts until they realize what Helen Keller overcame. And those who bully are able to understand the human side of what Helen Keller endured.”
- The foundation provides this educational program with the sponsorship of Regions.
- “I believe supporting the Helen Keller Foundation gives students the opportunity to understand what it’s like to walk in the shoes of individuals with disabilities and to provide them with respect,” said Kathy Lovell, Regions’ Americans with Disabilities Act Manager. “First of all, it’s doing what is right, and it’s taking it a step further and doing more for the community and the children.”
- See more of this story on the Regions Financial YouTube Channel
Doing More to Enrich the Lives of Children:
- Financial Education Days at Victory Field in Indianapolis, Ind., combined baseball and financial instruction for 850 elementary school students. Along with a tour of the home of the Indians baseball team, the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, children participated in “Scholars and Dollars,” a class in money basics led by Regions associates.
- Randy Lewandowski, the General Manager of the Indians, says, “Anytime we can get players and kids together, you see a little sparkle in [the kids’] eyes.” He adds that giving back to the children and the community in this way is something the players look forward to.
- Thirty Regions associates taught the Scholars and Dollars classes, providing lessons in financial fundamentals to the students of two Indianapolis public schools, Rousseau McClellan IPS #91 and Frederick Douglass IPS #19.
- “When we continue to hear how excited the students are, how they walk away feeling really fulfilled, we know we’ve made a difference in these children’s lives,” said Regions Area President Leslie Carter-Prall. “We are impacting them in a number of ways, not only to explore and experience the Indianapolis Indians’ Victory Field, but also giving them an understanding of financial education so they can be productive citizens in our community.”
- Matthew Iszler, a teacher at Rousseau McClellan IPS #91, believes the day left an indelible impression on his students. “To have Regions come out here and help us out is the best,” he says. “They bring all their experience in the financial sector into the classroom, and kids see how that impacts their day-to-day lives, which really changes the learning experience. Something is driven home that they can remember.”
- See more of this story on the Regions Financial YouTube Channel
In 2015, Regions supported organizations across the South, Midwest and Texas through grants, donations, charitable contributions, and sponsorships. As part of Regions’ support of community service, the company provides associates a paid day off each year to volunteer in their communities. Regions associates also participated in “Share the Good” initiatives, joining community service activities ranging from Habitat for Humanity building projects to food drives, financial education classes, random acts of kindness and hundreds of other events.
The complete “Doing More” 2015 Social Responsibility Report is available on the Regions website at regions.com/socialresponsibility.