Month: April 2024

Taco Bell blog

April was officially recognized as National Arab American Heritage Month in 2021, celebrating the heritage of Arab communities and their many contributions to society.

To amplify this historic month, we’ll be spotlighting Arab Americans within Taco Bell and their inspiring career and life journeys.

David S., Market Coach at Taco Bell Corp. started at Taco Bell as a Shift Lead in Alabama almost 30 years ago! Since then, he has worked his way up to his current position of Market Coach, running the Norfolk and D.C. markets.

“One of my favorite memories of working at The Bell was attending an annual operations meeting in the late ‘90s. It took place in Nashville and had over 7,000 attendees including Restaurant General Managers from all over the country. I met so many new people and had lots of fun.”

Before coming to the U.S. and finding Taco Bell, David spent his early years in Jerusalem with his family. At a young age, his brother left the family to attend college in the U.S. A few years later, his sister got married and moved to Alabama. When the time came for David to leave, he followed in his siblings’ footsteps.

”I finished high school and decided to move to the U.S. for college like my older brother. Coming to the States was hard; I applied for my visa nine times before getting accepted.”

After landing in the States, David found it challenging to not only navigate living in a new place, but also attending the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. Within a few months, he decided to move to Alexandria, Virginia, to live with his older brother and complete more courses at Northern Virginia Community College. That’s where he found his future wife!

“After getting married, my wife and I moved to Huntsville, Alabama. At that time, my brother-in-law knew someone who was working at Taco Bell, so he urged me to apply as well. It was tough in the beginning as I was assigned closing shifts with my wife working the morning shifts at her job, so we only saw each other on days off.”

Still residing on the East Coast, you can find David attending events or celebrations to stay connected to the Palestinian community and his Arab roots.

“I travel to Jerusalem one to three times a year to see my parents, brothers and their children who still live there. I also love hanging out with friends and relatives from Jerusalem who reside in my city as we all attend events together. I am very proud of my roots, and one day I hope my kids can carry that torch as well.”

One thing that David notes about the Arab culture is the importance of family.

“Family is important to us, especially respecting our elders and making sure they are taken care as they get older.”

When it comes to getting involved within the Arab community and learning about its rich culture and heritage, it’s all about finding a friend!

“Staying true to our values of hospitality, generosity along with cultural clothing and food are all things you can learn about through an Arab friend. They will be more than willing to show you where we come from by inviting you to events, feeding you traditional dinner and dessert and hosting you with the family.”

If David could share three pieces of advice, especially with those who’ve immigrated from different parts of the world, it would be the following:

Never give up on your culture or change who you are.If someone does not know about you or your culture and history, don’t be afraid to teach them.Stand up for what you believe in.

Originally published on GoDaddy Resource Library

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career at GoDaddy.

Hello! I am Cole, a Data Engineer at GoDaddy. I live, work, and play in one of the most beautiful areas of Canada; the West Kootenays. While living in a historically rich area, I am grateful to apply my skills to the global workforce of employees that GoDaddy is comprised of. I love challenging my mind as I work, with the aim of delivering efficient and robust layers of data to our customers. Working on AWS with an internal culture of experimentation and exploration, I feel empowered to deliver complex data solutions. One concrete example of this would include migrating cloud compute for data processes to AWS Graviton. These changes frequently lead to a direct reduction in costs and environmental impact.

Can you share more about your involvement with GD Green?

Having been a member of the GD Green Employee Resource Group (ERG) for a few years, I felt that it was my time to contribute back to this initiative; encouraging both my colleagues and the company towards a more environmentally secure future while improving financial margins. I’ve recently become a VP on the GD Green board, generating ideas and roadmaps for how to grow our engagement towards “Green” initiatives within our cohort. We’ve just recently orchestrated monthly meet-ups where members of the ERG are encouraged to share environmentally relevant topics close to their hearts. Together, we can all collaborate on this journey towards more sustainable living.

How does GoDaddy support you to do the things that are important to you?

I love that GoDaddy offers me the balance to contribute fully to my work while having the confidence to donate back to my local community. I deeply value living a quieter balanced life, focused on outdoor recreation, community initiatives and plenty of backyard tinkering. I am on one local board that is spearheading a rural composting program having diverted over thirty tons of waste since 2018!

How will you be celebrating Earth Day 2024?

I am looking forward to this upcoming Earth Day where like every year, I will make an extended effort to go on a long walk in the forest.

Cole lives and works on the traditional unceded territory of the Sinixt Nation.

Are you enjoying this series and want to know more about life at GoDaddy? Check out our GoDaddy Life social pages! Follow us to meet our team, learn more about our culture (Teams, ERGs, Locations), careers, and so much more. You’re more than just your day job, so come propel your career with us.

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By Candace Higginbotham 

The good news: 35 states now require high school students to pass a personal finance course to graduate.The challenge: Local school systems and teachers aren’t always equipped with robust curriculum and other resources to provide engaging financial education instruction to students.More good news: The Regions Foundation® and a community partner are helping to fill that gap.

The Regions Foundation is a nonprofit funded primarily by Regions Bank. The Foundation’s grants and investments create positive change in communities across the South, Midwest and Texas. The Regions Foundation, along with Regions Bank, focus on initiatives that enhance economic and community development; education and workforce readiness; and financial wellness.

All three of those focus areas are critical to the Foundation’s work throughout the year, but Financial Literacy Month in April is the perfect opportunity to highlight some exciting special financial wellness initiatives.

The Foundation has collaborated with the Council for Economic Education for many years, most recently in the form of grants of $25,000 to each of three state affiliates in the Regions Bank footprint: Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama.

The CEE’s mission is to equip K-12 students with the tools and knowledge of personal finance and economics so that they can make better decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities. It does this by providing programs for teachers, students and families through a network of 200 affiliates across the country.

According to the CEE, 40 percent of Americans have less than $300 in savings, and only 24 percent of millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) demonstrate basic financial literacy.

The organization estimates that 50 percent of America’s youth will earn less than their parents.

With those metrics as motivation, the CEE has developed more than 1,000 lessons, guides and activities for 500,000 teachers that have so far reached more than 2 million students.

“During Financial Literacy Month – and throughout the year – the Regions Foundation works to ensure that people in our communities have access to financial education resources to make life better,” said Marta Self, executive director of the Regions Foundation. “We’re pleased to support the CEE’s professional development programs and provide curriculum resources to help students throughout the country, especially those in areas historically underserved by the traditional financial system. When young people have tools to make informed financial decisions and create a better life for themselves and their families, the entire community benefits.”

In Mississippi: Developing Teachers and Careers

The Mississippi Council on Economic Education was on hand three years ago when the state Board of Education declared that personal finance would be required content for students before graduating from high school. According to Selena Swartzfager, president of the Mississippi Council on Economic Education, the MCEE jumped in to help any way they could – including writing the personal finance unit of the College and Career Ready Course and providing teacher training.

“With support from the Regions Foundation, the MCEE developed the Master Teacher of College & Career Readiness program, which provides learning materials as well as creative ways to present personal finance education content in an engaging manner for students,” Swartzfager said. The program also helps students plan for and apply for college and help them make choices about entering the workforce.

“The content, which includes 75 hours of instruction, is presented via Canvas instruction presented by MCEE faculty,” Swartzfager said. “We’ve found this format expands reach, makes the material accessible, gives teachers flexibility, and – most importantly – it removes barriers.”

Their methods are clearly working. Mississippi received national recognition for their financial literacy in high schools program just a few years after the requirement was in place.

In Georgia: Preparing for Graduation and Beyond

A similar Georgia law was enacted in 2022 that requires 11th and 12th grade students to pass a half-credit personal finance program to graduate.

“Everyone is pleased about the new requirements and understands how beneficial these mandatory financial literacy programs are to our students, families and communities,” said Mike Raymer, executive director of the Georgia Council on Economic Education. “We just needed to make sure our teachers were ready for the transition.”

Raymer reports that thanks to the Regions Foundation grant, the GCEE has held six workshops for 70 high school teachers and nine sessions for 178 elementary school teachers focused on financial literacy since January.

The funding also supports fun, real-life learning activities for the students. One example is the Stock Market Game, a competition in which students are given $100,000 worth of simulated funds to invest.

“So far, the winning team has earned $166,000 in six weeks – and they’re elementary school students!” Raymer said. The winning teams will be honored at a celebration at the Fox Theater in Atlanta.

The GCEE has several events planned for Financial Literacy Month, including a personal finance challenge for high school students and informative teacher webinars led by financial experts. Regions Chief Economist Richard Moody was a past guest speaker.

Mary Beth Coke, Regions Commercial Bank leader, serves as board chair for the GCEE and is proud to support this vital resource for Georgia teachers and students.

“The workshops, lesson plans and hands-on experience to K-12 teachers that GCEE provides across nearly every county in the state ensures our young citizens are financially literate,” Coke said. “The Regions Foundation grant will help maintain economic and financial education at the highest levels to our students.”

In Alabama: Reaching Younger Students

Alabama, too, has garnered national attention for effectively meeting its financial literacy graduation requirement, which went into effect in 2014.

But according to Wanda McAbee, who leads the Alabama Council on Economic Education, this affiliate is using their Regions Foundation grant dollars a little differently – to fund the council’s Never Too Early program.

“This is our second year to focus on the elementary school population,” McAbee said.

Our goal is to reach younger students and help them develop life-long habits. Knowledge is power and early learning ensures they’re better equipped for a successful financial future.

Wanda McAbee, leader of the Alabama Council on Economic Education 
 

The ACEE provides webinars for teachers and a variety of classroom tools, including Adventures in Math, a free online program to help K-8 kids learn math skills and financial responsibility that is part of Regions Next Step® financial wellness program. These younger students learn to count money, differentiate between wants and needs, making good decisions about earning, spending and saving.

So far this year, the Never Too Early program has provided financial education curriculum to 158 teachers and 17,698 students.

Don Korn, director of Portfolio Management for Regions Wealth Management, is a board member and praises the ACEE’s efforts in providing financial education programs for Alabama K-12 students.

“I enjoy serving as a board member of the ACEE because I have a passion for financial literacy and children’s education, which intersect with the council’s mission” Korn said. “And that ties in perfectly with the key areas of focus for the Regions Foundation.”

McAbee agreed, saying, “With its support of this program, the Regions Foundation is allowing us to build knowledge to last a lifetime.”

During Financial Literacy Month, Regions Bank associates are helping students across the bank’s footprint build financial confidence through the Share the Good® volunteer program. Join us, in a classroom near you!

CINCINNATI, April 22, 2024 /3BL/ – As part of its commitment to combat climate change and in celebration of Earth Day 2024, Fifth Third Bank today announced it has joined Mastercard’s Priceless Planet Coalition, an effort to restore 100 million trees across the globe by 2025. By signing onto the coalition, Fifth Third will do its part and help to restore 10,000 trees.

The Priceless Planet Coalition is a valuable international program that helps promote tree restoration across six continents with 18 reforestation projects to create maximum impact. The lone project in the United States is located in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, one of Fifth Third’s footprint states. Addressing climate change is one of Fifth Third’s five key corporate sustainability priorities.

“Reforestation is a key cog in the wheel of addressing climate change,” said Jeremy Faust, director of environmental sustainability, Fifth Third Bank. “We are proud to partner with Mastercard on their innovative and unique initiative to help make a measurable difference. The efforts are helping to create jobs as well as have positive, measurable effects on our natural environment.”

In Kentucky, a degraded mine site in Appalachia is being reforested by planting shortleaf pine and oak trees to improve air and water quality, enhance forest resiliency, and mitigate climate change through increased carbon accumulation. The reforestation project also will provide pollen and nectar sources for pollinators and attract more wildlife. Partners with Mastercard on the Kentucky forest project are Conservation International and Green Forests Work (GFW).

Fifth Third’s Purpose is to improve lives and the well-being of its communities. The Bank’s five sustainability priorities are keeping the customer at the center, building strong communities, delivering on commitments to employees, promoting inclusion and diversity, and addressing climate change to create a more inclusive and sustainable world. To learn more about Fifth Third’s Sustainability initiatives, click here. Our report on Community Impact is available here.

About Fifth Third 
Fifth Third is a bank that’s as long on innovation as it is on history. Since 1858, we’ve been helping individuals, families, businesses and communities grow through smart financial services that improve lives. Our list of firsts is extensive, and it’s one that continues to expand as we explore the intersection of tech-driven innovation, dedicated people and focused community impact. Fifth Third is one of the few U.S.-based banks to have been named among Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies® for several years. With a commitment to taking care of our customers, employees, communities and shareholders, our goal is not only to be the nation’s highest performing regional bank, but to be the bank people most value and trust.

Fifth Third Bank, National Association is a federally chartered institution. Fifth Third Bancorp is the indirect parent company of Fifth Third Bank and its common stock is traded on the NASDAQ® Global Select Market under the symbol “FITB.” Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com.

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CONTACTS 
Adrienne Gutbier (Media Relations) 
adrienne.gutbier@53.com | 513-534-8038 
Matt Curoe (Investor Relations) 
matt.curoe@53.com | 513-534-2345

by Marc Yaggi, Waterkeeper Alliance 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a decision to make. Right now the agency is considering new water pollution standards for slaughterhouses and rendering facilities in response to lawsuits from environmental organizations. These standards are urgently needed to correct a long-standing regulatory failure to control one of the nation’s largest industrial sources of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. Despite its stated mission to safeguard human health and the environment, EPA’s current regulations do not address phosphorus discharges, and the agency has neglected to update water pollution standards for other harmful pollutants from this industry for nearly twenty years, as required by the Clean Water Act.

This is no accident. Large industrial animal agriculture companies have invested millions of dollars in lobbying to ensure the status quo, which in turn, protects their growing profits. This includes U.S. domestic sales, which were estimated at $267 billion in 2021, and a projected goldmine of global industrial meat production associated with expansions of beef, pork, and chicken exports since 2010. It is reported that the four largest meat processing conglomerates operating in the U.S., which control approximately 55 percent to 85 percent of the market for pork, beef, and poultry, have collectively increased their gross profits by 120 percent and net income by 500 percent since 2019.

As global meat production continues to rise to meet a projected doubling of meat-based protein consumption by 2050, corporate owners of these large facilities are not incentivized to modernize their systems, treat their waste, and control their discharges that typically contains nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as blood, fat, oil and grease, fecal bacteria, disease-causing pathogens, detergents, and heavy metals. Without regulatory scrutiny and guardrails, “Big Agriculture” will persist in operating without consequences, reaping all the profits while communities drown in its toxic brew of pollution.

Read Marc’s complete article here – https://greenmoney.com/the-economic-and-water-impacts-of-the-epas-slaughterhouse-rule

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Innovation at Clorox is all about building trusted brands people love that meet their ever-evolving needs. We mainly do this by developing products that use less packaging overall and/or more sustainable packaging materials and leave less waste behind after they’re used. Here are a few of our latest product launches created with the planet in mind:

Brita recently introduced a Refillable Filter, which reduces plastic waste by 80% compared to the standard filter over the course of three years. Compatible with nearly all existing Brita systems, this refillable filter comes with a reusable plastic shell so only the refills — which are made of coconut husks and can be recycled through Terracycle — get discarded.Burt’s Bees unveiled a new Lip Sleeping Mask, which contains responsibly sourced beeswax and comes in 96% post-consumer recycled plastic packaging. Additionally, the business rolled out a mango edition of its popular shea collection, including Body Oil and Hand & Body Butter, which uses shea butter responsibly sourced from women-led communities in West Africa.Pine-Sol just launched a new 2x concentrated formula for both its retail and professional multisurface cleaners. Because it now offers twice the cleaning power in a smaller bottle — 40% smaller for retail and 50% smaller for professional — that means less plastic is used per drop of cleaning solution.  Additionally, these new Pine-Sol bottles are made with a minimum of 50% post-consumer recycled plastic.To accompany the new Clorox Scentiva Disinfecting Mist, there’s a bottle refill option to help keep additional plastic waste from the trigger out of landfills. Plus, when the shrink sleeve is removed from these bottles, they’re recyclable in many municipalities (per the instructions on the bottle).

Read more about Clorox’s recent sustainability progress and impact here.