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Natalie Pruett
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September 30, 1998
FIRST UNION DOUBLES "AMERICA'S PROMISE" EDUCATION PLEDGE TO 2.4 MILLION VOLUNTEER HOURS
CHARLOTTE - Following through on a pledge made to the 1997 Presidents' Summit for America's Future, First Union announced it has doubled its commitment from 1.2 to 2.4 million volunteer hours through the year 2000. The company has already completed 1.5 million volunteer hours since the original pledge was made, which was named as one of the top 20 commitments in the nation by Newsweek.
During the 1997-98 school year, 45 percent of First Union employees gave over 753,000 hours to serve as tutors, mentors, teacher's aides, readers, lunch buddies and more. More than 40 percent of these hours were donated during the business day, thanks to First Union's four-hours-of-paid-time-off-a-month policy.
"Pledging more than 1 million volunteer hours was a major commitment our employees have already surpassed," said John R. Georgius, president of First Union Corporation. "By focusing on education and volunteerism, First Union is committed to providing on-going relationships between caring adults and children, one of the five objectives of the America's Promise."
First Union is a strong education advocate in all of its communities. Last month, the company introduced a new corporate-wide initiative called Reading First, a program focused on early childhood literacy. Last year, First Union partnered with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to launch the pilot program.
During the 1997-98 school year, more than 700 First Union employees spent nearly 1,400 hours reading to 4-year olds in 46 pre-school classrooms. First Union donated 1,400 high-quality children's books to the same classrooms. This year, the program has been extended throughout First Union's marketplace, from Connecticut to Florida.
Charlotte-based First Union Corporation (NYSE:FTU) is a leading provider of financial services to more than 16 million retail and corporate customers throughout the East Coast and the nation. First Union is the nation's sixth largest bank holding company, based on assets of $229 billion as of June 30, 1998, and ranks among the top 15 financial services companies in the world, based on market capitalization. The company operates full service banking offices in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
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