Tag: 3BL

NEW ORLEANS, September 20, 2024 /3BL/ – Entergy’s proactive disaster relief efforts have provided $150,000 in crucial funding to support communities affected by Hurricane Francine. By partnering with the American Red Cross and United Way of Southeast Louisiana ahead of the storm, Entergy ensured that resources were in place to offer safe shelter, warm meals and relief supplies to those in need.

“We are proud to work alongside our partners to ensure they are equipped to respond effectively to disasters in our service area,” said Patty Riddlebarger, Entergy’s vice president of corporate social responsibility. “Our annual disaster response commitment generously provided by Entergy shareholders, enables our partners to have the infrastructure, trained volunteers, and critical resources necessary to offer relief and support to those in need.”

Each year, the company proactively awards grants to disaster relief organizations such as the American Red Cross and United Way so that when disaster strikes, they can respond immediately in one of Entergy’s service areas, ensuring that families impacted by the storm receive the assistance they require.

Due to Entergy shareholders’ $100,000 commitment to the American Red Cross and $50,000 donation to United Way for Hurricane Francine relief, hundreds of dedicated volunteers were able to work through the storm to provide essential assistance to impacted communities across Louisiana and Mississippi, including:

American Red Cross

Opened and staffed six shelters to provide shelter, meals and support for more than 160 individuals in need.Deployed emergency response vehicles to provide essential feeding services and disaster emergency supplies to those in need.Gathered data from county emergency officials and conducted door-to-door damage assessments in low lying areas and where rainfall accumulations were the highest.

United Way of Southeast Louisiana 

Distributed food, water, post storm cleanup supplies and gift cards for impacted residents.Set up drive through supply distribution sites at the J. Wayne Leonard Prosperity Center on Canal Street, as well as prosperity center locations in New Orleans East, Covington and Bogalusa.

At Entergy, storm preparation is a year-round process that includes training, vegetation management, equipment inspections and industry collaborations. Preparation is critical to a safe and efficient restoration. Learn more how we prepare for severe weather on the Entergy Storm Center.

About Entergy

Entergy (NYSE: ETR) is a Fortune 500 company that powers life for 3 million customers through our operating companies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. We’re investing in the reliability and resilience of the energy system while helping our region transition to cleaner, more efficient energy solutions. With roots in our communities for more than 100 years, Entergy is a nationally recognized leader in sustainability and corporate citizenship. Since 2018, we have delivered more than $100 million in economic benefits each year to local communities through philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy. Entergy is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has approximately 12,000 employees. Learn more at entergy.com and connect with @Entergy on social media. #WePowerLife

Originally published in Quest Diagnostics’ 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report

We conducted a comprehensive benefits survey to better understand what our employees are looking for and determine how we can better meet their needs. In 2023, we implemented new initiatives and enhanced existing ones to address the physical and financial well-being topics our employees identified.

Fertility and family-building benefits

As of January 2024, we offer fertility and family-building benefits in collaboration with Kindbody for employees enrolled in qualified, Quest-sponsored medical plans. Employees and their spouses or domestic partners can receive up to $10,000 in lifetime benefits for treatments and services that include in vitro fertilization and intrauterine insemination.

Salary-tiered medical plan contributions

As healthcare costs continue to rise, we reevaluated the way we collect employee contributions toward Quest medical plans. We introduced salary-tiered contributions, allowing employees who earn less to pay less.

Employee Relief Fund

We continued to refine our Employee Relief Fund to better support our employees facing a personal crisis or a federally declared emergency. Quest employees contribute to the Fund, with Quest matching their donations dollar for dollar. Together, Quest and employees raised over $200,000 by the end of 2023.

Financial wellness tools

Quest employees can now access unlimited, confidential, personal financial coaching through FinFit at no cost. Financial coaches can guide employees through a range of topics from credit scores to budgeting. Employees can receive loans or credit through FinFit to cover emergency expenses and set up easy repayment via their paychecks. We also provide ongoing financial education workshops.

HEALTHYQUEST

Our people are the backbone of everything we do at Quest. When our people thrive, our company does, too. In 2023, we relaunched our HealthyQuest program to offer holistic support for our employees’ well-being. We developed a new framework—How I… Work, Eat, Feel, and Move—to meet employees where they are on their health journey, and to make healthy choices more approachable and accessible. To support the HealthyQuest framework, we focus on 3 key areas: culture, prevention, and programs.

Culture

Our HealthyQuest EBN launched in May of 2023 with a mission to encourage, educate, and empower employees’ physical and mental well-being. Over 1,000 employees have joined this community thus far. Additional structure and leadership are provided by a Steering Committee of engaged C-suite leaders and directors, a Health and Wellness Advisory Council of medical experts, and HealthyQuest Ambassadors who deploy initiatives across the enterprise. Together, these teams are fostering peer-to-peer encouragement, creating medically sound programming and activities, and building a wellness infrastructure to support a health-centric company culture.

Prevention

Every day, we help our customers improve their health by providing them with high-quality diagnostic testing insights. Through our prevention pillar, we do the same for our employees and their families. Our cornerstone program is our Blueprint for Wellness screening. This enables employees and their spouses or domestic partners to receive an annual, personalized health report based on comprehensive lab panels, biometrics, and online questionnaire. The report identifies health risks for participants and provides a multi-year view of their metrics.

In 2023, ~37,000 Quest employees and their spouses or domestic partners participated in Blueprint for Wellness, representing a ~79% participation rate among those enrolled in a Quest-sponsored medical plan. We held on-site events, offered home test kits, and facilitated testing at our patient service centers to meet our employees and their spouses or domestic partners where they are. We also provided 3 months of no-cost virtual telemedicine support through Quest Virtual Care following the screening so participants could speak with a physician about any risks identified in their report.

Blueprint for Wellness has been life-changing for many Quest employees. Whether the report helped them uncover a health issue they were unaware of or motivated them to make changes to help prevent something more serious, they now have a roadmap toward a healthier life.

Another annual prevention initiative we offer to our employees and their spouse or domestic partner who are 45 years and older is a no-cost InSure® ONE™ test that can lead to early colorectal cancer detection. When physicians catch colorectal cancer in the early stages, patients have a 5-year survival rate of over 90%.* In 2023, ~27% of eligible employees participated in InSure® ONE™ testing.

Programs

We invest in programs that address our employees’ need for support across all aspects of well-being. In 2023, we continued to work with Spring Health to provide all employees and their dependents enrolled in a Quest-sponsored medical plan with high-quality, affordable mental health support. Employees can receive up to 6 therapy sessions per year at no cost, as well as coaching and medication management based on their needs. In 2023, ~21% of eligible Quest employees took advantage of this benefit.

In addition to these services, we hosted our first “Go Well” wellness challenge in 2023. Over the 6-week period, over 7,000 employees logged healthy actions like taking a walk, getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep, journaling, and more. The initiative helped employees feel prepared prior to participating in our Blueprint for Wellness screening.

To support qualified employees and their spouses or domestic partners in acting on Blueprint for Wellness insights, we also offer personalized weight management and type 2 diabetes coaching through Pack Health®, our personalized health management affiliate acquired in 2022.

“Blueprint for Wellness not only added healthy years to my life, but to my daughters’ and mother’s lives, who are also carriers of this gene.”

-GINA, A QUEST EMPLOYEE WHOSE BLUEPRINT FOR WELLNESS TESTING REVEALED A HEREDITARY CONDITION

Read more

* Altekruse SF, Kosary CL, Krapcho M, et al (eds). SEER 18 2010–2016, All Races, Both Sexes by SEER Summary Stage 2000. Accessed July 31, 2020. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/colorect.html

HOUSTON, September 20, 2024 /3BL/—NRG Energy, Inc.’s (NYSE:NRG) 17th annual positiveNRG Impact Week united thousands of employees in 30 cities and provinces across the United States and Canada to provide one million meals for local nonprofits. From September 16-20, the NRG family worked to combat food insecurity in their communities, packing, sorting, and preparing an estimated 1.2 million pounds of food for individuals and families in need.

“Since 2020, NRG has focused our annual week of volunteerism on addressing the critical issue of food insecurity in the communities where we live and work,” said Gin Kirkland Kinney, Senior Vice President, Head of Administration. “This year, we were proud to expand on those efforts and deliver even more nutritious meals to our neighbors and their families.”

Throughout North America, NRG partnered with local food banks and other nonprofits that focus on hunger relief, including:

Houston Food BankFood Bank Network Somerset CountyMANNANorth Texas Food BankKids’ MealsLos Angeles Food BankBrown Bagging for Calgary Kids

The week featured a three-day meal-packing event at NRG Center in Houston, Texas, in partnership with the Houston Food Bank.

With Americans facing a 5.8% increase in food prices in 2023—following a 9.9% increase in food prices in 2022—many are continuously struggling with putting food on the table.1These difficulties are reflected in the statistics shared by Feeding America, which show that more than 44 million Americans were contending with food insecurity last year. This equates to 13.5% of the U.S. population.2 NRG is proud to partner with local nonprofits addressing this critical need.

Through its positiveNRG program, the company is committed to supporting causes that help our communities thrive and continue working with organizations that help alleviate hunger.

To learn more about positiveNRG.

1https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-price-outlook/summary-findings/

2https://map.feedingamerica.org/

HOUSTON, September 20, 2024 /3BL/—NRG Energy, Inc.’s (NYSE:NRG) 17th annual positiveNRG Impact Week united thousands of employees in 30 cities and provinces across the United States and Canada to provide one million meals for local nonprofits. From September 16-20, the NRG family worked to combat food insecurity in their communities, packing, sorting, and preparing an estimated 1.2 million pounds of food for individuals and families in need.

“Since 2020, NRG has focused our annual week of volunteerism on addressing the critical issue of food insecurity in the communities where we live and work,” said Gin Kirkland Kinney, Senior Vice President, Head of Administration. “This year, we were proud to expand on those efforts and deliver even more nutritious meals to our neighbors and their families.”

Throughout North America, NRG partnered with local food banks and other nonprofits that focus on hunger relief, including:

Houston Food BankFood Bank Network Somerset CountyMANNANorth Texas Food BankKids’ MealsLos Angeles Food BankBrown Bagging for Calgary Kids

The week featured a three-day meal-packing event at NRG Center in Houston, Texas, in partnership with the Houston Food Bank.

With Americans facing a 5.8% increase in food prices in 2023—following a 9.9% increase in food prices in 2022—many are continuously struggling with putting food on the table.1These difficulties are reflected in the statistics shared by Feeding America, which show that more than 44 million Americans were contending with food insecurity last year. This equates to 13.5% of the U.S. population.2 NRG is proud to partner with local nonprofits addressing this critical need.

Through its positiveNRG program, the company is committed to supporting causes that help our communities thrive and continue working with organizations that help alleviate hunger.

To learn more about positiveNRG.

1https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-price-outlook/summary-findings/

2https://map.feedingamerica.org/

Kathleen Dumes, CFA| Responsible Investing Research Analyst—Fixed Income Responsible Investing

For a deeper dive into PRISM 3.0, read our paper, Breaking the ESG Barrier: Empowering Credit Investors Through Better and Faster Data.

Transcript

Investors need to integrate financially material ESG risks and opportunities into their portfolios. But that’s no easy matter. Company ESG data, when it exists, can be hard to find and subjective. And there are few global data standards, making apples-to-apples comparisons challenging.

Investors looking to avoid data issues frequently turn to third-party ESG rating providers. Unfortunately, not only is there huge variability in ESG scores provided by third parties, but those scores often look in the rearview mirror, ignoring companies’ commitments and paths forward.

That’s why we’ve developed a new approach to credit research that allows our analysts to capture, objectively analyze and consistently evaluate financially material ESG metrics, turning a data problem into a data-driven solution.

We call this digital ESG scoring platform PRISM 3.0.

PRISM sources nearly 180 metrics from NGOs, governments and third parties.

This data is not only financially material, in our view, but is also clean, to ensure data integrity. That helps minimize human biases and generates more objective company analyses.

PRISM’s resulting ESG scores allow for meaningful comparison of companies, both within industries and across industries. That’s because PRISM doesn’t try to fit the same generic ESG metrics onto all companies. Because different industries are exposed to different environmental and social risks, PRISM looks at industry-relevant metrics to provide more accurate assessments.

For example, when analyzing an airline, looking only at carbon intensity may be misleading. Emissions per passenger-kilometer flown better represent an airline’s ability to be fuel efficient.

Unlike most third-party scorers, PRISM covers 96 to 98% of the universe of investment-grade, high-yield and emerging-market corporate bonds, including small and unlisted companies.

Lastly, PRISM frees up credit analysts’ time, allowing them to focus on targeted engagements* with corporate issuers to gain unique, forward-looking insights—the kind that power active investing.

Ultimately, PRISM puts robust, contextualized ESG data at portfolio managers’ fingertips to enable faster—and better—decision-making for client portfolios.

*AB engages issuers where it believes the engagement is in the best financial interest of its clients.

The views expressed herein do not constitute research, investment advice or trade recommendations and do not necessarily represent the views of all AB portfolio-management teams. Views are subject to revision over time.

Learn more about AB’s approach to responsibility here.

Kathleen Dumes, CFA| Responsible Investing Research Analyst—Fixed Income Responsible Investing

For a deeper dive into PRISM 3.0, read our paper, Breaking the ESG Barrier: Empowering Credit Investors Through Better and Faster Data.

Transcript

Investors need to integrate financially material ESG risks and opportunities into their portfolios. But that’s no easy matter. Company ESG data, when it exists, can be hard to find and subjective. And there are few global data standards, making apples-to-apples comparisons challenging.

Investors looking to avoid data issues frequently turn to third-party ESG rating providers. Unfortunately, not only is there huge variability in ESG scores provided by third parties, but those scores often look in the rearview mirror, ignoring companies’ commitments and paths forward.

That’s why we’ve developed a new approach to credit research that allows our analysts to capture, objectively analyze and consistently evaluate financially material ESG metrics, turning a data problem into a data-driven solution.

We call this digital ESG scoring platform PRISM 3.0.

PRISM sources nearly 180 metrics from NGOs, governments and third parties.

This data is not only financially material, in our view, but is also clean, to ensure data integrity. That helps minimize human biases and generates more objective company analyses.

PRISM’s resulting ESG scores allow for meaningful comparison of companies, both within industries and across industries. That’s because PRISM doesn’t try to fit the same generic ESG metrics onto all companies. Because different industries are exposed to different environmental and social risks, PRISM looks at industry-relevant metrics to provide more accurate assessments.

For example, when analyzing an airline, looking only at carbon intensity may be misleading. Emissions per passenger-kilometer flown better represent an airline’s ability to be fuel efficient.

Unlike most third-party scorers, PRISM covers 96 to 98% of the universe of investment-grade, high-yield and emerging-market corporate bonds, including small and unlisted companies.

Lastly, PRISM frees up credit analysts’ time, allowing them to focus on targeted engagements* with corporate issuers to gain unique, forward-looking insights—the kind that power active investing.

Ultimately, PRISM puts robust, contextualized ESG data at portfolio managers’ fingertips to enable faster—and better—decision-making for client portfolios.

*AB engages issuers where it believes the engagement is in the best financial interest of its clients.

The views expressed herein do not constitute research, investment advice or trade recommendations and do not necessarily represent the views of all AB portfolio-management teams. Views are subject to revision over time.

Learn more about AB’s approach to responsibility here.

Originally published in the Chemours 2023 Sustainability Report

In a year shaped by external and internal challenges and change, Chemours’ commitment to sustainability and our values remained unwavering. This is reflected in the significant progress we made against our Corporate Responsibility Commitment goals, which prioritize actions that improve lives, power modern progress, and protect our planet for future generations. We are focused on priorities that matter to our company and our stakeholders, and we fully integrate sustainability into our business decisions and actions across our organization. We are firm in our belief that what is good for the world is also good for business.

This past year, we’ve seen our values in action as we confronted challenges headon, turning hurdles into opportunities. We’ve taken decisive action in advancing sustainable innovations, strengthening our environmental leadership, and reducing our operational impact while delivering important products that our customers and the world need for a more sustainable future.

Partnering for Progress

The growing needs to address climate change, preserve biodiversity, and ensure that prosperity and progress are inclusive are not only essential for our society, but also essential to our business. The products we make enable sustainable technologies and applications that intersect with these global priorities, and our chemistry is inseparable from meeting the world’s demand for clean energy, next-generation semiconductor chips, and data centers that consume less energy and water. The scale and complexity of these global challenges can make them appear insurmountable; no single organization can solve these problems alone. The need for partnerships with stakeholders across the public and private sectors is more vital than ever as the shared pursuit of solutions, diverse perspectives, and expertise are the cornerstones of transformative progress.

Responsible Manufacturing

We can each do our part to create a better world. In our daily operations, sustainability begins with our employees and the responsible manufacturing of our products. Across our manufacturing network, we have invested in ground-breaking emissions control technologies to reduce our environmental impact, worked to reduce our energy and water consumption, and continue to partner across industry and academia on pathways to promote greater circularity. While the products we produce are critical, how we produce them is equally as important.

That is why we set ambitious environmental goals and every day apply the investments, creativity, and energy needed to achieve them. We have been, and continue to be, an environmental leader in our industry and recognize that our most important responsibility is to protect the well-being of our people and the communities surrounding our plants.

Moving Forward 

Our belief in what we can achieve together is stronger than ever. I am excited to renew our commitment to our goals and pledge our ongoing support to the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact. I invite everyone to explore our Sustainability Report to see the milestones we’ve proudly reached with full acknowledgment that there remains more work to be done on our sustainability journey. We hope you’ll find that the report is a plain-spoken chronicle of our shared commitment and a roadmap for the future we are striving to create, as we to partner to forge a more sustainable path forward for us all.

Read the full Chemours 2023 Sustainability Report

For more about Chemours and it’s 2030 Goals, visit our site

Originally published in the Chemours 2023 Sustainability Report

In a year shaped by external and internal challenges and change, Chemours’ commitment to sustainability and our values remained unwavering. This is reflected in the significant progress we made against our Corporate Responsibility Commitment goals, which prioritize actions that improve lives, power modern progress, and protect our planet for future generations. We are focused on priorities that matter to our company and our stakeholders, and we fully integrate sustainability into our business decisions and actions across our organization. We are firm in our belief that what is good for the world is also good for business.

This past year, we’ve seen our values in action as we confronted challenges headon, turning hurdles into opportunities. We’ve taken decisive action in advancing sustainable innovations, strengthening our environmental leadership, and reducing our operational impact while delivering important products that our customers and the world need for a more sustainable future.

Partnering for Progress

The growing needs to address climate change, preserve biodiversity, and ensure that prosperity and progress are inclusive are not only essential for our society, but also essential to our business. The products we make enable sustainable technologies and applications that intersect with these global priorities, and our chemistry is inseparable from meeting the world’s demand for clean energy, next-generation semiconductor chips, and data centers that consume less energy and water. The scale and complexity of these global challenges can make them appear insurmountable; no single organization can solve these problems alone. The need for partnerships with stakeholders across the public and private sectors is more vital than ever as the shared pursuit of solutions, diverse perspectives, and expertise are the cornerstones of transformative progress.

Responsible Manufacturing

We can each do our part to create a better world. In our daily operations, sustainability begins with our employees and the responsible manufacturing of our products. Across our manufacturing network, we have invested in ground-breaking emissions control technologies to reduce our environmental impact, worked to reduce our energy and water consumption, and continue to partner across industry and academia on pathways to promote greater circularity. While the products we produce are critical, how we produce them is equally as important.

That is why we set ambitious environmental goals and every day apply the investments, creativity, and energy needed to achieve them. We have been, and continue to be, an environmental leader in our industry and recognize that our most important responsibility is to protect the well-being of our people and the communities surrounding our plants.

Moving Forward 

Our belief in what we can achieve together is stronger than ever. I am excited to renew our commitment to our goals and pledge our ongoing support to the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact. I invite everyone to explore our Sustainability Report to see the milestones we’ve proudly reached with full acknowledgment that there remains more work to be done on our sustainability journey. We hope you’ll find that the report is a plain-spoken chronicle of our shared commitment and a roadmap for the future we are striving to create, as we to partner to forge a more sustainable path forward for us all.

Read the full Chemours 2023 Sustainability Report

For more about Chemours and it’s 2030 Goals, visit our site

Previously published by TriplePundit

By Abha Malpani Naismith

Teachers in the United States are spending more of their own money than ever before to meet an overwhelming need for even basic school supplies like paper and pencils. They spent an average of $860 on classroom supplies in the 2022-2023 school year, a 44 percent increase since 2015, according to AdoptAClassroom.org surveys. That’s largely because funding for classroom supply budgets have not kept up to meet students’ needs. 

Over the past four years, Subaru of America has partnered with AdoptAClassroom.org to help reduce this financial burden. Donors and corporate sponsors can “adopt” a specific classroom by donating on the fundraising platform. Teachers use the money for supplies, designing and developing the classroom environment, and incorporating modern educational technologies and materials for new teaching methods.

The Subaru journey into educational support began with a shared vision. “It started with a simple introduction to AdoptAClassroom.org, which turned into a powerful collaboration under our Subaru Loves Learning initiative,” said Lauren Papasidero, Love Promise Community Commitment Specialist at Subaru of America. “Our goal was clear from the beginning — we wanted to ensure that every student had the necessary tools for success, irrespective of their economic background. As of this year, we will have helped over 750,000 students nationwide.”

Subaru of America is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, and over the past four years the company has adopted every grade school and every high school in the city’s public school district.. “Through our partnership, we have helped set up their classrooms, we provided a graphic arts lab to one high school, and we assist them with any task they need,” Papasidero said. “We also ask Subaru of America colleagues to spend a day volunteering and supporting teachers at schools throughout the entire Camden City School District.”

Before partnering with AdoptAClassroom.org, Subaru was working hard to align the national scope of its educational support program with local impact needs. It’s crucial that the company’s more than 630 automotive retailers can support high-needs schools within their local communities. The solution was coordinating with AdoptAClassroom.org to match each retailer with a nearby school in need, while navigating complexities such as pre-existing relationships with non-eligible schools. Subaru then encouraged retailers to consistently partner with the same schools to foster long-term relationships and maximize impact.

“This year, we have 78 percent of our retailers partnering with the same school for the fourth consecutive year,” Papasidero said. “While it was a hurdle in the beginning — how can we execute locally when we’re national? — I’m proud to say we have overcome that challenge and now have relationships in every local community. AdoptAClassroom.org helped us foster these relationships and grow them, and our retailers have really taken it and run with it.”

Reflecting on the broader impact highlights the effectiveness of the partnership, but also illustrates the deep-seated needs that persist in educational institutions across the country. “Ninety-two percent of teachers reported that our contributions significantly increased access to essential educational materials,” Papasidero said. 

The flexible funding that Subaru provides offers teachers the opportunity to get what they need most for their classrooms. And on top of that, Subaru retailers are always encouraged to go above and beyond in their efforts to make a difference. 

“One of our retailers learned that many students go home without access to electricity, so they were unable to charge their devices,” Papasidero said. “The students would come in the morning with little to no battery on their devices, so they weren’t able to participate in their educational activities. When we contacted AdoptAClassroom.org, we learned that the school was interested in purchasing charging carts, but had budget restrictions. So, team Subaru stepped up and, through AdoptAClassroom.org, donated over 35 charging carts to this school, providing every student in the classroom access to electricity.”

Creating an internship program for local special education graduates is another example of a Subaru retailer thinking outside the box. “They learn real-world business skills and how to work in a professional setting, but in a nurturing environment,” Papasidero said. “And what’s more, last year’s intern was hired on full-time after their internship.” 

The synergy between Subaru and AdoptAClassroom.org is a testament to the power of collaborative philanthropy. As companies like Subaru step up to address societal challenges, their actions set a precedent for how corporate entities can make a difference.

Previously published by TriplePundit

By Abha Malpani Naismith

Teachers in the United States are spending more of their own money than ever before to meet an overwhelming need for even basic school supplies like paper and pencils. They spent an average of $860 on classroom supplies in the 2022-2023 school year, a 44 percent increase since 2015, according to AdoptAClassroom.org surveys. That’s largely because funding for classroom supply budgets have not kept up to meet students’ needs. 

Over the past four years, Subaru of America has partnered with AdoptAClassroom.org to help reduce this financial burden. Donors and corporate sponsors can “adopt” a specific classroom by donating on the fundraising platform. Teachers use the money for supplies, designing and developing the classroom environment, and incorporating modern educational technologies and materials for new teaching methods.

The Subaru journey into educational support began with a shared vision. “It started with a simple introduction to AdoptAClassroom.org, which turned into a powerful collaboration under our Subaru Loves Learning initiative,” said Lauren Papasidero, Love Promise Community Commitment Specialist at Subaru of America. “Our goal was clear from the beginning — we wanted to ensure that every student had the necessary tools for success, irrespective of their economic background. As of this year, we will have helped over 750,000 students nationwide.”

Subaru of America is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, and over the past four years the company has adopted every grade school and every high school in the city’s public school district.. “Through our partnership, we have helped set up their classrooms, we provided a graphic arts lab to one high school, and we assist them with any task they need,” Papasidero said. “We also ask Subaru of America colleagues to spend a day volunteering and supporting teachers at schools throughout the entire Camden City School District.”

Before partnering with AdoptAClassroom.org, Subaru was working hard to align the national scope of its educational support program with local impact needs. It’s crucial that the company’s more than 630 automotive retailers can support high-needs schools within their local communities. The solution was coordinating with AdoptAClassroom.org to match each retailer with a nearby school in need, while navigating complexities such as pre-existing relationships with non-eligible schools. Subaru then encouraged retailers to consistently partner with the same schools to foster long-term relationships and maximize impact.

“This year, we have 78 percent of our retailers partnering with the same school for the fourth consecutive year,” Papasidero said. “While it was a hurdle in the beginning — how can we execute locally when we’re national? — I’m proud to say we have overcome that challenge and now have relationships in every local community. AdoptAClassroom.org helped us foster these relationships and grow them, and our retailers have really taken it and run with it.”

Reflecting on the broader impact highlights the effectiveness of the partnership, but also illustrates the deep-seated needs that persist in educational institutions across the country. “Ninety-two percent of teachers reported that our contributions significantly increased access to essential educational materials,” Papasidero said. 

The flexible funding that Subaru provides offers teachers the opportunity to get what they need most for their classrooms. And on top of that, Subaru retailers are always encouraged to go above and beyond in their efforts to make a difference. 

“One of our retailers learned that many students go home without access to electricity, so they were unable to charge their devices,” Papasidero said. “The students would come in the morning with little to no battery on their devices, so they weren’t able to participate in their educational activities. When we contacted AdoptAClassroom.org, we learned that the school was interested in purchasing charging carts, but had budget restrictions. So, team Subaru stepped up and, through AdoptAClassroom.org, donated over 35 charging carts to this school, providing every student in the classroom access to electricity.”

Creating an internship program for local special education graduates is another example of a Subaru retailer thinking outside the box. “They learn real-world business skills and how to work in a professional setting, but in a nurturing environment,” Papasidero said. “And what’s more, last year’s intern was hired on full-time after their internship.” 

The synergy between Subaru and AdoptAClassroom.org is a testament to the power of collaborative philanthropy. As companies like Subaru step up to address societal challenges, their actions set a precedent for how corporate entities can make a difference.