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Good Corporate Citizenship “A good company delivers excellent products and
resources,” occurring when forward-thinking organ-
services, and a great company does all that and
izations, both large and small, endeavour to be more
strives to make the world a better place.”
than merely cheque writers—identifying innovative
William Ford Jr., Chairman, Ford Motor Co.
means to support the philanthropic passions of their employees.
Anyone who has ever met Chris White ’90 recognizes that, next to his family, Lakefield holds a very special
Currently, more than 8,400 companies in North
place in his heart.
America offer volunteer time programs and/or matching gifts as an attractive benefit for employees
Chris maintains a close association with the school in a number of roles and has recently completed his
to enhance staff relations and promoting broadbased philanthropy.
term as Past President of the Grove Society. Knowing that his employer will match his gifts to It is not unusual for Chris to jump into his car and travel two hours to attend a Grove Society meeting, or sacrifice two Saturdays a year to participate in Trustees' Day, or spend precious evenings connecting with his classmates as a Class Rep.
Lakefield College School, Zack Kembar ’87 is able to contribute to LCS's Outdoor Education program. The matching gift from Goldman Sachs enables his gift to go further. As Zack notes, “Goldman Sachs strongly believes that education is a key factor in achieving
Chris does all this and more because he cares about
success. The firm stands behind this by offering our
Lakefield and its future. Not only does Lakefield
employees a matching gift program that enables
value what Chris contributes to the Grove
them to contribute to their alma mater in
Community, so does his employer, Royal &
meaningful ways.”
SunAlliance. By volunteering 100 hours for Lakefield each year, Chris is able to facilitate a $500 gift to the school from his employer.
Both Chris and Zack agree that what their employers do to recognize their commitment to Lakefield is valuable and enables them to enhance their support
Corporations like Royal & SunAlliance play an
of the school. By acknowledging their employees’
important role in building a culture of philanthropy
philanthropic interests, Royal & SunAlliance and
for their employees. According to Annie Stavridis,
Goldman Sachs demonstrate respect for their
Corporate Communications for Royal & SunAlliance,
employees by supporting causes that mean the most
“Keeping Canadians safe is our number one corpo-
to them.
rate citizenship focus… We understand that our employees have causes they hold close to their heart. Every day, our people are contributing to their communities. Royal & SunAlliance supports their generosity." Corporate social responsibility—corporate citizenship—is simply defined as “a commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and contributions of
The Grove thanks Chris and Zack for being such passionate supporters of LCS and to Royal & SunAlliance and Goldman Sachs for leading the way by inspiring and supporting a culture of philanthropy with their employees. To see if your employer offers a matching gift or volunteer recognition program, inquire at your Human Resources Office or contact:
tbutlerporter@lakefieldcs.on.ca.