Month: July 2026

Verizon
By Stacy Morrison

At a glance

• The Reality of Back-to-Back Devastation: When Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck Florida just two weeks apart, they didn’t just damage property—they left vulnerable residents completely displaced with no running water, electricity, or functioning kitchens.
• An Inspiring Alliance for Long-Term Recovery: Discover how a critical grant between Verizon Community Disaster Resilience and the nonprofit Rebuilding Together Greater Florida (RTGFL) is stepping in to repair 43 heavily damaged homes for those who need it most.
• More Than Just Repairs: See how these organizations went beyond standard fixes—installing advanced, storm-resilient upgrades and restoring a life-changing sense of safety and peace of mind.

In fall 2024, Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck Florida just two weeks apart. The storms overwhelmed households already stretched thin, leaving many people at risk of losing their homes.

To support long-term recovery in the Tampa Bay area, Verizon Community Disaster Resilience, an initiative that helps communities prepare for, respond to and recover from extreme weather events, provided a generous grant to Rebuilding Together Greater Florida (RTGFL), a nonprofit organization that provides free, critical home repairs to income-eligible homeowners. Together, they expect to repair 43 homes.

For Tampa residents Shamsher Lamba and Tommy Lam, this support helped them make their homes safe, livable and more resilient against future storms.

“I can’t even go into the house”

Shamsher Lamba, a teacher from Hudson, Florida, evacuated to a friend’s house during Hurricane Helene. The next morning, he returned home to find his neighborhood nearly destroyed. Debris blocked the road. A 60-foot boat rested in his front yard, carried there by floodwater. “It looked like a bomb had gone off,” Lamba says.

Five feet of water had flooded Lamba’s home during the storm. He called a friend—Lamba has a disability that made it difficult for him to navigate the debris—and said, “I need you over here. I can’t even go into the house.” His friend photographed the damage: Water had knocked over the appliances and carried his belongings throughout the house. Lamba’s home had no water, no plumbing, no functioning kitchen and a leaking roof.

Over the next two weeks, Lamba and a group of friends tried to make the house livable again. They worked through the wreckage, hauling out waterlogged debris, ruined appliances and damaged furniture. Then Hurricane Milton hit.

Living in the severely damaged house meant that Lamba had to shower at a local gym before work each day. He ate nothing but takeout, since he had no means to cook at home. While Lamba tried to fix his home as his finances allowed, progress was slow. He installed hurricane-resistant windows and had the electrical system rebuilt four feet off the ground to survive future flooding.

While seeking assistance with the repairs, Lamba connected with RTGFL through one of RTGFL’s partner organizations. Thanks to Community Disaster Resilience funding, the home received a complete insulation upgrade designed to make the home more weathertight and energy efficient. RTGFL completed the rest of the work: a new roof, roofline repairs to protect against water intrusion, new drywall, restored water service, an accessible shower, fresh paint and new appliances.

After more than a year of hauling water and using a camp toilet, Lamba says he is newly appreciative of the home’s plumbing. “I’m still getting used to the fact that I can use a toilet in my house,” Lamba says. “I can do laundry at home again. I have running water. It’s like a novelty.”

For Lamba, who didn’t share his difficulties with his students or community, accepting help was new. “I’ve been through some hurricanes, but this one hit really hard,” he says.

Lamba’s story is like many people’s in the Tampa Bay area. “The people most likely to be left behind are older adults, people with disabilities, veterans and families who were already struggling to maintain their homes,” says José Garcia, CEO of RTGFL. “A neighborhood is only as resilient as its most vulnerable residents. If we want communities to recover fully, we have to ensure everyone has a path forward, not just those with the resources to recover on their own.”

“I didn’t think the hurricane would be dangerous”

In nearby Tampa, Tommy Lam also survived both hurricanes, although with major damage to his home. Lam hadn’t heeded storm warnings for Hurricane Helene because his neighborhood isn’t a high-risk flood zone. But as the storm continued, water poured into the house. When it reached two feet, Lam finally evacuated. By the time the flood ended, the water had risen another two feet.

“The refrigerator, the doors, everything—I had to take it all to the dump,” Lam says. He couldn’t afford essential renovations and had nowhere else to go. “All I have is my home,” he says.

Lam was also referred to the RTGFL and Community Disaster Resilience program by an RTGFL partner organization. His home received disaster-resilient repairs and improvements, including impact windows and exterior doors funded by the Community Disaster Resilience grant. RTGFL replaced the interior doors and installed new cabinets in both the kitchen and bathrooms, as well as a new stove. Lam also enrolled in home insurance coverage for the first time.

Recovery work such as this tends to be underfunded and drawn out. Verizon seeks to address these issues through the Community Disaster Resilience initiative, both by staying present in affected communities and also by partnering with organizations such as RTGFL.

“Our goal is not just to help families recover from the last storm,” Garcia says. “We strengthen their homes through critical repairs, resilience improvements and education that can reduce damage and improve safety during future disasters.”

For homeowners, that support also means a newfound sense of peace. “I feel safe now,” Lam says. “I’m happy. It feels very good.”

For more information on Verizon’s disaster resilience initiatives, visit Verizon Community Disaster Resilience.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) powers and empowers how its millions of customers live, work and play, delivering on their demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity and security. Headquartered in New York City, serving countries worldwide and nearly all of the Fortune 500, Verizon generated revenues of $138.2 billion in 2025. Verizon’s world-class team never stops innovating to meet customers where they are today and equip them for the needs of tomorrow. For more, visit verizon.com or find a retail location at verizon.com/stores.

CLEVELAND, July 9, 2026 /3BL/ – KeyBank (NYSE: KEY) today announced that Check Control for Business is fully available to KeyBank Business Online® clients. This service, which is unique to KeyBank as to the size of business it supports paired with its minimal cost, can help small business owners address the growing risk of check fraud with the ability to monitor check activity, quickly spot suspicious check transactions, and mark checks for return.

As fraud practices continue to evolve, small business owners are faced with increasing challenges in protecting their operations. According to the Federal Reserve’s Business Payments Study, 83% of small firms use paper checks for business payments, and more than $1 billion is recovered each year in counterfeit checks and money orders. Check Control for Business helps combat this by alerting clients to check activity so they can review and act if necessary. 

“Check fraud continues to be a growing challenge for businesses as tactics evolve, and we know it’s top of the mind for many of our clients, especially small businesses, which are the backbone of our economy,” said Victor Alexander, Head of Key’s Consumer Bank. “At Key, we are committed to delivering for our clients by helping them stay ahead of emerging threats and protect what they’ve worked so hard to build. Check Control for Business is another way we’re empowering our clients with practical, effective tools to help prevent fraud and operate with confidence.”

Check Control for Business is a proactive alert system designed to help business owners monitor check activity from their online or mobile app.  In addition to being a fraud mitigation solution, Check Control for Business is also a convenient check reconciliation tool that helps businesses keep track of checks moving through their account.

Check Control for Business empowers small business clients to:

• View checks daily from a PC or mobile device
• Confirm check amounts, numbers, and payees
• Return suspicious or duplicate checks in just a few clicks 
• Stay in control with customized alerts and notification timing

Clients can self-enroll within digital banking with a few simple steps that can be completed in under one minute. Enrolled users receive alerts when checks are ready for review, allowing clients to detect and address potential check fraud before it impacts their business, stopping fraud before it’s too late. This can save a business from potentially thousands of dollars in losses and the cascade of problems that follow, like bounced vendor payments and disrupted cash flow.

Check Control for Business is available to eligible KeyBank Business Online clients^[i] (generally, small business clients with $10 million or less in revenue) at a cost of $5 per enrolled account per month. With the addition of this service, KeyBank continues to invest in digital capabilities that empower small businesses to operate more securely and efficiently in an increasingly complex financial environment.

“Check Control for Business is an exciting addition to our suite of digital capabilities and reflects our commitment to helping businesses of all sizes fight fraud, from emerging small businesses to large enterprises,” said Emily Gessner, Head of Commercial Digital for KeyBank. “Providing clients with simple, effective tools to help safeguard their businesses is critical to allowing them to focus on growth.” 

ABOUT KEYCORP
KeyCorp’s roots trace back more than 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $189 billion at March 31, 2026. 

Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 950 branches and approximately 1,100 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets® trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank Member FDIC. 

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CFMA 260706-4691646
©2026 KeyCorp. All rights reserved.

^[i] Check Control for Business is available only to eligible business checking (DDA) subproduct accounts on the Key Business Banking Platform. Accounts enrolled in KeyNavigator® check fraud services (including Positive Pay) are not eligible to enroll.

A new Forbes Business Council article from DP World’s Brittany Caskey, Chief Commercial Officer for the Americas, highlights an emerging reality for supply chain leaders: technology alone isn’t enough to build resilient, high-performing operations. As organizations accelerate investments in AI, automation, and digital tools, workforce strategy is becoming a key differentiator.

The shift reflects a broader industry trend. While companies continue investing heavily in supply chain innovation, many still struggle to translate those investments into measurable operational improvements. Increasingly, success depends not only on deploying new technologies, but on ensuring employees have the skills, training, and decision-making capabilities to use them effectively.

Closing the Gap Between Technology and Execution

As outlined in the article, the next phase of supply chain performance will be defined less by who invests the most in technology and more by who can execute most effectively with the systems already in place. That requires organizations to treat workforce enablement as a strategic investment alongside digital transformation.

Rather than viewing workforce strategy as solely an HR function, leading organizations are aligning roles, workflows, and skills with increasingly data-driven operations – helping teams adapt more quickly to change while improving day-to-day execution.

Why It Matters for Business Leaders

For supply chain leaders, the implications extend well beyond employee development. Workforce capability increasingly influences:

• Speed of technology adoption
• Service reliability and operational resilience
• Customer experience during disruptions
• Long-term return on digital investments

As AI and automation continue reshaping logistics, people remain essential for interpreting data, managing exceptions, and delivering the consistency customers expect.

Read the Full Perspective

As supply chains become more complex and technology adoption accelerates, workforce strategy is emerging as a critical driver of operational performance and competitive advantage.

For a deeper look at how organizations can better align people, technology, and execution, read Brittany Caskey’s latest Forbes Business Council article, “How Workforce Strategy Is Shaping Supply Chain Reliability.”

At the Tandem Global Conference—where professionals from around the world gather to advance corporate action for nature—Chemours’ Fayetteville Works and Chambers Works were recognized for their ongoing environmental stewardship and biodiversity efforts.

Earlier in the year, both sites achieved recertification under the WHC Conservation Certification®. Powered by Tandem Global, the WHC Conservation Certification® is the only voluntary sustainability standard designed specifically for biodiversity enhancement and conservation education on corporate lands. Certification is awarded through an independent, third-party evaluation of on-site programs.

In addition to the Chemours’ sites being recognized for continued progress in maintaining and advancing certified conservation programs, Chemours’ Fayetteville Works was nominated for both the Avian Corporate Conservation Award and the Pollinator Corporate Conservation Award, highlighting the site’s strong focus on protecting wildlife habitats and supporting ecological balance.

Advancing Nature Through Everyday Operations

Across both sites, conservation efforts are embedded into how work gets done—from restoring habitats and supporting native species to engaging employees and local communities in environmental education. These programs reflect a broader commitment to responsible environmental management and to advancing Chemours’ Corporate Responsibility Commitment (CRC) goals.

By participating in globally recognized programs like WHC Conservation Certification®, Chemours sites are contributing to a growing network of corporate lands dedicated to biodiversity and conservation education—demonstrating how industry can play a meaningful role in supporting ecosystems while delivering business value.