Employee Involvement
We know that responsible corporate citizenship helps us to attract and retain good employees. We also recognize that our people can develop useful skills outside the workplace. And we believe that encouraging greater engagement in our local communities reinforces employees’ engagement in our company. For all these reasons, we encourage employees to get involved as volunteers and supporters of community organizations. In fact, in a recent employee survey, 89% of respondents indicated that it is important to them that Pitney Bowes supports employees’ charitable giving and volunteer interests.
Match funding for employee contributions
We encourage employees to make charitable donations, and we support their efforts by matching their contributions to eligible charities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. We conduct annual giving campaigns and allow employees to contribute through payroll deduction. We match their contributions to eligible charities 100 percent.
Grants for volunteerism
We provide grants to non-profit organizations in recognition of the hours individual employees contribute, and to cover the costs of supplies and materials needed for team volunteer projects. Our recognition grants start at $125 for 25 hours of service and progress up to $500 per year per employee for 100 hours or more of volunteering. Our team project grants to support the volunteer activities of groups of three or more employees.
Volunteering that supports personal development
In keeping with our strategic philanthropic focus, we offer employees structured volunteering opportunities linked to literacy and education initiatives. At the same time, we see volunteer service as an opportunity for employees to develop their skills. We encourage employees to serve on local committees and non-profit boards, and our community investment and Human Resources teams work together to match employees’ personal development goals with available volunteer opportunities. We also honor employees who contribute to volunteering through our employee recognition program, the Pitney Bowes Impact Awards. In 2009 we will introduce new online resources to improve access to volunteer opportunities.
Local community support
In addition to making contributions at the national level, we encourage individual Pitney Bowes facilities to contribute at their local level. In theUnited States
Disaster relief
The Pitney Bowes Relief Fund was established in 1992 to provide for colleagues and others whose lives are disrupted by natural disasters or personal misfortune. Financed by employee contributions and a dollar-for-dollar company match, the fund gives recipients access to food, shelter, clothing and medical care in catastrophic situations. Pitney Bowes bears the fund’s administrative costs and the Salvation Army manages its operations, ensuring that all donations directly benefit those who need assistance and that it is distributed as efficiently as possible. So far the Relief Fund has distributed more than $1.8 million in assistance, including help for 330 families in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and more than 100 following Hurricane Gustav.
This Disaster Matching Program provided support following an earthquake in the Sichuan province of China in May 2008. The Foundation provided grants to the Red Cross, Mercy Corps and World Vision to help clear debris and reconstruct homes for more than five million people displaced by the quake.
Case study: FireLocator
Through innovation and living our values of integrity – ‘doing the right thing’ – and Collaboration, Pitney Bowes Advanced Concepts & Technology group in Canada and Pitney Bowes Business Insights in Australia have made a web-based wildfire tracking application available, free of charge, to communities faced with environmental and personal disaster.
After the tragic 2007 fire season in California, PB AC&T analysis identified an opportunity to use our technology and expertise to help save lives. The resulting application, FireLocator, uses Location Intelligence to provide a complete picture of wildfire activity, combining live video and audio feeds with dynamic tracking of each fire’s footprint.
A new opportunity to apply this technology arose in early 2009 as wildfires swept through the Australian bush over a weekend, cascading through the treetops and causing fatalities as people scrambled to escape without knowing which routes were safe. On the following Monday, PB AC&T inToronto joined forces with our Business Insights group in Sydney to make FireLocator available in Australia
Case study: Learning is for Everyone
For nearly 20 years, employees at our headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut have tutored local neighborhood students in the third through fifth grades. Once a week, children arrive by school bus and are met by Pitney Bowes volunteers who bring them to our cafeteria for a snack and who then work with the students on homework assignments.
Case study: Holiday Mail for Heroes
More than 1.4 million holiday cards were received for members of the U.S. armed services, veterans and military families last year through Holiday Mail for Heroes, a joint initiative of Pitney Bowes and the American Red Cross. Messages of thanks, support and holiday cheer from all over the United States were collected, sorted and sent to service men and women at more than 300 locations around the world. The year’s total of 1.4 million cards was more than double that of 2007.
Case study: 2008 Impact Award
Shelton, Connecticut employee Seema Winsor was the 2008 winner of the Pitney Bowes Impact Award, in part for her work in the community. Seema, who works on new product development, sits on the Board of the Stamford Public Education Fund (SPEF) and is also a longtime volunteer with the FIRST Lego League, helping local girls’ teams competes in this largely male science and technology competition. Two years ago she brought the two organizations together, setting up a Junior FIRST Lego League with SPEF funding and enlisting additional support from community centers, the local YMCA and the boys and girls club. In 2009, 22 teams and 120 children participated in the Junior expo. Pitney Bowes has supported Seema’s efforts through match-funding of her volunteer hours, team grants and contributions to SPEF.
Case study: Job Shadow Day
In March 2009, 40 headquarters employees volunteered for Junior Achievement’s Job Shadow Day, an event designed to help students make a stronger connection between the workplace and their schoolwork. Each student shadowed an employee in a chosen work area, discovering what the job was actually like, what the employee had studied in school and how it had helped. Students also received educational recommendations based on their current interests. A study by the Kravis Leadership Institute in Southern California shows that students who job-shadow are more likely to finish high school and obtain a four-year degree.
Case study: Local grants
In Chesapeake, Virginia, Pitney Bowes provided a grant to the Great Bridge Primary School in 2008 to fund a Lucky Learner Club for first and second grade students who are not making satisfactory progress in reading and comprehension skills. The Club meets four times a week to provide extra help before and after school.
In Shelton, Connecticut, we supported the United Way of Eastern Fairfield to develop its iMentor Program. The program provides in-person and online mentoring to help students improve their relationship-building skills and academic performance and thereby encourage college enrollment.
Case study: Flood relief
In 2007, an unusually heavy rainstorm flooded a Pitney Bowes employee’s home in Stamford, Connecticut, damaging the house and destroying most of the family’s furniture, appliances, electronics and personal belongings. When the homeowner’s insurance carrier refused to cover the flood loss, Pitney Bowes came through.
“We were devastated. A generous check from the PB Relief Fund allowed me to pay two months of my mortgage. We were struggling to take on the expense of repairing our house and replacing all our possessions. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to all the PB employees who contributed to this fund. It made all the difference in the world to us.”
We encourage employees to make charitable donations, and we support their efforts by matching their contributions to eligible charities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. We conduct annual giving campaigns and allow employees to contribute through payroll deduction. We match their contributions to eligible charities 100 percent.
Grants for volunteerism
We provide grants to non-profit organizations in recognition of the hours individual employees contribute, and to cover the costs of supplies and materials needed for team volunteer projects. Our recognition grants start at $125 for 25 hours of service and progress up to $500 per year per employee for 100 hours or more of volunteering. Our team project grants to support the volunteer activities of groups of three or more employees.
Volunteering that supports personal development
In keeping with our strategic philanthropic focus, we offer employees structured volunteering opportunities linked to literacy and education initiatives. At the same time, we see volunteer service as an opportunity for employees to develop their skills. We encourage employees to serve on local committees and non-profit boards, and our community investment and Human Resources teams work together to match employees’ personal development goals with available volunteer opportunities. We also honor employees who contribute to volunteering through our employee recognition program, the Pitney Bowes Impact Awards. In 2009 we will introduce new online resources to improve access to volunteer opportunities.
Local community support
In addition to making contributions at the national level, we encourage individual Pitney Bowes facilities to contribute at their local level. In the
Disaster relief
The Pitney Bowes Relief Fund was established in 1992 to provide for colleagues and others whose lives are disrupted by natural disasters or personal misfortune. Financed by employee contributions and a dollar-for-dollar company match, the fund gives recipients access to food, shelter, clothing and medical care in catastrophic situations. Pitney Bowes bears the fund’s administrative costs and the Salvation Army manages its operations, ensuring that all donations directly benefit those who need assistance and that it is distributed as efficiently as possible. So far the Relief Fund has distributed more than $1.8 million in assistance, including help for 330 families in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and more than 100 following Hurricane Gustav.
This Disaster Matching Program provided support following an earthquake in the Sichuan province of China in May 2008. The Foundation provided grants to the Red Cross, Mercy Corps and World Vision to help clear debris and reconstruct homes for more than five million people displaced by the quake.
Case study: FireLocator
Through innovation and living our values of integrity – ‘doing the right thing’ – and Collaboration, Pitney Bowes Advanced Concepts & Technology group in Canada and Pitney Bowes Business Insights in Australia have made a web-based wildfire tracking application available, free of charge, to communities faced with environmental and personal disaster.
After the tragic 2007 fire season in California, PB AC&T analysis identified an opportunity to use our technology and expertise to help save lives. The resulting application, FireLocator, uses Location Intelligence to provide a complete picture of wildfire activity, combining live video and audio feeds with dynamic tracking of each fire’s footprint.
A new opportunity to apply this technology arose in early 2009 as wildfires swept through the Australian bush over a weekend, cascading through the treetops and causing fatalities as people scrambled to escape without knowing which routes were safe. On the following Monday, PB AC&T in
Case study: Learning is for Everyone
For nearly 20 years, employees at our headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut have tutored local neighborhood students in the third through fifth grades. Once a week, children arrive by school bus and are met by Pitney Bowes volunteers who bring them to our cafeteria for a snack and who then work with the students on homework assignments.
Case study: Holiday Mail for Heroes
More than 1.4 million holiday cards were received for members of the U.S. armed services, veterans and military families last year through Holiday Mail for Heroes, a joint initiative of Pitney Bowes and the American Red Cross. Messages of thanks, support and holiday cheer from all over the United States were collected, sorted and sent to service men and women at more than 300 locations around the world. The year’s total of 1.4 million cards was more than double that of 2007.
Case study: 2008 Impact Award
Shelton, Connecticut employee Seema Winsor was the 2008 winner of the Pitney Bowes Impact Award, in part for her work in the community. Seema, who works on new product development, sits on the Board of the Stamford Public Education Fund (SPEF) and is also a longtime volunteer with the FIRST Lego League, helping local girls’ teams competes in this largely male science and technology competition. Two years ago she brought the two organizations together, setting up a Junior FIRST Lego League with SPEF funding and enlisting additional support from community centers, the local YMCA and the boys and girls club. In 2009, 22 teams and 120 children participated in the Junior expo. Pitney Bowes has supported Seema’s efforts through match-funding of her volunteer hours, team grants and contributions to SPEF.
Case study: Job Shadow Day
In March 2009, 40 headquarters employees volunteered for Junior Achievement’s Job Shadow Day, an event designed to help students make a stronger connection between the workplace and their schoolwork. Each student shadowed an employee in a chosen work area, discovering what the job was actually like, what the employee had studied in school and how it had helped. Students also received educational recommendations based on their current interests. A study by the Kravis Leadership Institute in Southern California shows that students who job-shadow are more likely to finish high school and obtain a four-year degree.
Case study: Local grants
In Chesapeake, Virginia, Pitney Bowes provided a grant to the Great Bridge Primary School in 2008 to fund a Lucky Learner Club for first and second grade students who are not making satisfactory progress in reading and comprehension skills. The Club meets four times a week to provide extra help before and after school.
In Shelton, Connecticut, we supported the United Way of Eastern Fairfield to develop its iMentor Program. The program provides in-person and online mentoring to help students improve their relationship-building skills and academic performance and thereby encourage college enrollment.
Case study: Flood relief
In 2007, an unusually heavy rainstorm flooded a Pitney Bowes employee’s home in Stamford, Connecticut, damaging the house and destroying most of the family’s furniture, appliances, electronics and personal belongings. When the homeowner’s insurance carrier refused to cover the flood loss, Pitney Bowes came through.
“We were devastated. A generous check from the PB Relief Fund allowed me to pay two months of my mortgage. We were struggling to take on the expense of repairing our house and replacing all our possessions. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to all the PB employees who contributed to this fund. It made all the difference in the world to us.”