Page 7 - BusinessWest November 10, 2021

BusinessWest: Let’s start by getting your take on — and your working definition of — those phrases ‘corporate stewardship’ and ‘being a good corporate citizen.’
Scully: “Country Bank has been around for 172 years, and its legacy for all those years has been the belief that healthy com- munities thrive. We’re all in business for our companies to do well, but from a community perspective, we need communities that are healthy — healthy economically, heathy demographi- cally, educationally, with regard to healthcare. So giving back has always been a focus here, and in recent years we’ve taken it to a higher level, both with writing checks and having people on the street giving back and being part of the community. And it dif- fers, depending on what the needs are. There can be very signifi- cant multi-year pledges — we just pledged $1 million for hunger awareness in June, with $500,000 for food banks in both Cen-
tral and Western Mass., because if people have good nutrition, healthy communities will thrive — or having 14 people at Habitat for Humanity helping to build a house. It’s a focus that we do big and small.”
Jasmin: “Being involved in the community is part of the fab- ric of our company; we consider ourselves a family, we have a culture of caring, and we focus on personal connection, whether that’s with our customers, our employees, or throughout the
“What changed was how urgent the need was and the need to move quickly to respond to those needs.”
THERESA JASMIN
community. And that manifests itself in many different ways, from large donations to capital campaigns to investments in time and talent. For us, though, it’s about relationships and creating strong vibrant communities; that’s what corporate stewardship means to us.”
Scribner: “For our organization, it’s not so much the money; it’s about organizations allowing these students to come in for semester and do a work-based learning opportunity, and that has long been a challenge for us. We’re trying to create a pipeline for employment, and to do that, we need businesses to assist us and open their doors to students. Often, it’s not about just writing a check, but getting involved on a deeper level.”
D’Amour: “We as a nonprofit are always seeking — and grate- ful to receive — financial support from the community. But we also rely on our volunteer base. Our organization was built on volunteers; it is the foundation of what we do. For us, we’re con- tinuing our outreach and working with the community to ensure that what we receive is supporting the families who are with us — and there are many forms that this support can take.”
Verducci: “Our WooSox Foundation is a new foundation and not heavily funded, but what we do have is a platform to provide valuable and equitable experiences to the community; specifical- ly, we tend to focus on pediatric oncology, recreation, education, and social justice. So while we love to donate the funds that we do have, we tend to be able to do the most good through corpo- rate partners and partnerships within the community.”
BusinessWest: Has the pandemic changed the dynamic when it comes to corporate stewardship, and if so, how?
Jasmin: “What changed was how urgent the need was and the
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BusinessWest FEATURE NOVEMBER 10, 2021 7