A season of giving

As in years past, this year’s season of giving kicked off with a number of Thanksgiving food drives and meal service activities. New York employees donated over 15,000 pounds of food this November to New York Common Pantry, the city’s largest community-based food pantry. Groups of volunteers also helped pack and distribute holiday meal packages, for food-insecure families across the city.

The season continued with gift drives at offices throughout the US, which provided books and toys for children and families who would likely not receive a holiday gift otherwise.

This is the ninth year that CSR has partnered with New York Cares’ Winter Wishes program, which calls on generous New Yorkers to fulfill holiday wish letters from homeless, educational and other social service agencies. This year, 1,165 letters will be fulfilled by employees in more than 9 divisions of the bank. Other groups in New York are working directly with schools and social service agencies to provide gifts for the children they serve.

In Cary, employees are once again fulfilling wish lists for children in foster care through the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina’s annual “Hope for the Holidays” drive. Employees at other offices participated in similar initiatives to provide holiday gifts to those in need.

As for their own holiday shopping, many employees are choosing gifts that give back. To that end, CSR hosted a holiday market at 60 Wall Street on December 18, featuring craft and specialty food items from social enterprises in CSR’s Made for Good portfolio. Each purchase is helping local underserved entrepreneurs achieve economic stability and contribute to neighborhood revitalization.