色花堂

Attendees entered the second half of day two here at the 2022 International Corporate Citizenship Conference eager to build on the insights and strong connections they鈥檇 gained this morning. The remainder of the day explored the dynamic partnerships that result from addressing systemic issues.

Most attendees started their afternoon with a second round of breakout sessions, which featured topics ranging from net zero, to intergenerational employee engagement, to diversity, equity, and inclusion. For attendees seeking a break from the hustle and bustle, there was also the chance to wind down in the Vertex Conversation Lounge.

Participants were also excited to learn that they were successful in packing more than 500 financial education kits for a local school in the Boston area, thanks to Ally鈥檚 generous sponsorship of this year鈥檚 volunteer project.

The power of strategic partnerships

Attendees settled in for an honest and candid session led by Altria, 鈥�The power of strategic partnerships.鈥� As a market leader in the U.S. tobacco industry, Altria is seizing an opportunity to shape a better future for adult tobacco consumers, employees, shareholders, and society. In this session, Jennifer Hunter, Altria鈥檚 senior vice president of corporate citizenship, took the stage to discuss how the company is working actively with a coalition of partners to address underage smoking and other youth issues through strong stakeholder relationships.

Hunter shared that while underage smoking rates are at generational lows, a rapid rise in youth e-vapor consumption/use rates in recent years indicate that this trend may be reversing. She said that Altria is partnering with youth organizations to continue to bring these numbers down such that they can prevent underage use of their products.

鈥淲e have the privilege of working with some of the top organizations that contribute to the healthy development of young people,鈥� said Hunter. 鈥淲e invest in proven, effective programs through a portfolio of partners reaching 17 million kids鈥攊ncluding an investment in parent communication and resource prevention.鈥�

Hunter was then joined by longtime partner Jennifer Sirangelo, president and CEO of the National 4-H Council, which was the first national youth-serving organization to collaborate with Altria, beginning the relationship in 1998. Immanuel Sutherland, senior manager, community impact at Altria, also joined to moderate a panel discussion about how corporate partners can best collaborate with youth and youth-serving organizations.

鈥淚t鈥檚 powerful when you partner with a nonprofit that鈥檚 courageous,鈥� said Sutherland, to start. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to ask the question probably on the minds of many people in this room: Why would 4-H partner with a tobacco company?鈥�

鈥淭his question is not a one-time decision. Our relationship with Altria as a partner is remade on a regular basis,鈥� replied Sirangelo. 鈥淭he reason we partner with Altria is rooted in shared values, as it is in all our corporate partnerships. You heard Jennifer talk about the commitment to not have young people using their products. I have seen that commitment go all through the company.鈥�

Sirangelo explained that the partnership鈥攕panning 25 years and more than $80 million鈥攕tarted with an alignment of values, and 4-H is proud to say they have been part of the significant public health achievement bringing down youth smoking.

Along the way, Altria has been a strong partner, contributing not only program funds but also capacity building investments and research, including a 10-year longitudinal study to look at the impact of Altria鈥檚 youth smoking prevention. Sirangelo also expressed appreciation for Altria鈥檚 willingness to address her senior leaders at National 4-H Council, answering questions about the nature of the partnership and mutually beneficial outcomes.

After this thought-provoking session, attendees filed out of the America Ballroom for a well-deserved break. In the foyer, they enjoyed a cocktail reception replete with refreshments and great conversation.

Building a parent nation

A short while later, attendees reconvened in the ballroom for dinner and engaging final session led by PNC Bank: Fulfilling society鈥檚 promise: How corporate America can support families in powering children鈥檚 potential. Opening the session was J. Reymundo Oca帽as, executive vice president, director of community development banking, PNC Bank.

Oca帽as, a longtime member of 色花堂CCC and its Executive Forum, expressed his excitement to be in the room with fellow corporate citizenship professionals. 鈥淓verything you do every day has so much meaning,鈥� said Oca帽as. 鈥淚 am a graduate of the Center鈥檚 executive education programs, and I can tell you that it鈥檚 so important to build up your skill set and accreditations. It鈥檚 also so important that you learn from each other at this conference.鈥�

From a company perspective, Oca帽as also discussed the company鈥檚 $80 billion community benefits plan, which was the result of listening sessions with hundreds of stakeholders. As a result of those discussions, PNC identified affordable housing as the area of the greatest need and has created several innovative products and services to support that need in low- and moderate-income communities.

Oca帽as introduced his colleague PNC Bank鈥檚 Executive Vice President and Director of Community Affairs, Sally McCrady, who described the company鈥檚 philanthropic commitments to support economic development education, and racial and social justice. McCrady also outlined the alignment of the foundation with the company鈥檚 overall business model.

鈥淥ur philanthropic model at PNC is that we are absolutely locally driven, a focus that is consistent with our PNC Bank 鈥楳ain Street鈥� model鈥� said McCrady. 鈥淓ach one of our markets knows the needs of our communities and local nonprofits best, so we trust them to make the decisions about where we support our funding.鈥�

McCrady also detailed PNC鈥檚 , a $500 million, multi-year, bilingual school readiness initiative reaching low- and moderate-income children from birth to age five. Founded in 2004, Grow up Great has awarded $207 million in grants and supported 8 million children in grant-funded programs and mobile educational tours

A critical part of this success is partnerships鈥攂ecause while the team has expertise in business operations of banking, they understand that they need partners to guide and provide the tools needed for the program. One of those partners is Dr. Dana Suskind, co-director of TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health, and author of Parent Nation: Unlocking Every Child's Potential, Fulfilling Society's Promise, who next took the stage.

Building upon her work as a pediatric physician and surgeon, Suskind shared her philosophy that every caregiver has the ability to 鈥榖uild their children鈥檚 brains鈥欌�攂ut doesn鈥檛 always have the opportunity. While there are more than 60 million parents in the U.S. who have children under 18, Suskind said, half of Americans live in so-called 鈥渃hildcare deserts,鈥� and fewer than 10% of those programs are considered high quality.

鈥淭hat means millions of parents do not have adequately nurturing childcare during the formative early years,鈥� continued Suskind, which described three key things children need in this period: security (i.e., protection from toxic stress), enrichment (i.e., rich language input) and time (i.e., the opportunity for nurturing interactions with caregivers). What their parents need is the ability to provide these things.

鈥淎ny business interested in increasing profits should be calling for a re-investment in today鈥檚 family, which will sow the seeds for the next generation of highly skilled, highly educated, and highly productive workers鈥攏ot to mention support the current working parents of today,鈥� concluded Suskind. 鈥淎ll members of a society benefit when its children receive a fair start in life.鈥�

Suskind praised PNC鈥檚 Grow Up Great program as a great example of a program that supports parents in the development of children鈥檚 brain growth. 鈥淚 love to see the many ways that PNC is living up to its own ideals and continually trying to do better,鈥� said Suskind. 鈥淚 truly believe other employers would be wise to follow suit.鈥�

With this enriching discussion, the day concluded. Attendees left the America Ballroom with a great deal 聽of insights, ideas, and best practices to infuse into their corporate citizenship work鈥攁nd looked forward to the final day of the conference.

We鈥檒l be blogging throughout the 2022 International Corporate Citizenship Conference to give you daily recaps and deep dives into the event鈥檚 unique content. Visit the to follow along and recap the event.