Joan Connelly and 20 or 30 co-workers from BankBoston spend a Saturday each month sorting food for the poor. Committed to their communities both during and after work, Luke and Connelly are the faces of the new corporate attitude toward giving. In an era when communities are in need, many employees are demoralized and corporate reputations count more than ever, it's an investment that many companies consider worthwhile. And that's a plus for the Presidents' Summit for America's Future, a three-day effort opening Sunday in Philadelphia, seeking to galvanize the nation to help young people. As part of the event led by President Clinton and former President Bush, more than 200 companies are pledging to their communities millions of volunteer hours along with goods from playgrounds to health care.
Corporations have the resources to foster and stimulate more volunteerism.
Increasingly, they are doing just that. Today 75 percent of companies have an employee working full-time on community relations, up from 9 percent in 1987, according to a survey by the Center for Corporate Community Relations at Boston College. In part, companies are stepping more deeply into the community arena because, as government programs are slashed, the needs are greater. And, as the summit illustrates, companies are being pressured to do more. And in its pledge to the summit, Timberland Inc. is offering each of its 5,000 employees a week of paid time off for community service.