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Discover’s Programs Discover Financial Services believes in being a good corporate citizen particularly in communities where our employees live and work. We are committed to supporting the many volunteer efforts of employees, and have a special interest in supporting educational initiatives. Our “You Care, We Share” Program supports this commitment and encompasses corporate giving, volunteerism and employee giving through two avenues; the Volunteer Recognition Program and the Employee Giving Program. In 2008, the company and employees donated millions of dollars and provided more than 35,000 hours of volunteer time to more than 3,000 nonprofit organizations. Volunteer Recognition Program Volunteerism is a core value at Discover. The company supports and encourages employees to be involved in their communities. Last year, nearly 50% of all of our employees supported this value by participating in our two signature programs, the Volunteer Recognition Program and Discover Cares Month. The Volunteer Recognition Program rewards employees’ volunteer efforts with more than 100 donations to local and national organizations reaching organizations like the Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation and Boys & Girls Scout troops across the country. We launched our first annual Discover Cares Month in September, and more than 4,000 employees volunteered thousands of hours to organizations across the country including beautification projects and mentoring at local schools, building playgrounds, donating to local food pantries and building a home for Habitat for Humanity. We are looking forward to our second Discover Cares Month this coming September and seeing thousands of our orange volunteerism shirts in our communities. Throughout the fall, more than 2,600 employees proudly engaged friends and family members to participate in Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walks in each of our locations raising over $100,000. In addition to local American Cancer Society, March of Dimes and Susan G. Komen walks as well as various drives to support local organizations, some of the other 2008 program highlights include: Delaware • Bank at School • Special Olympics Houston • Rebuilding Together Houston • Elves & More Dime Derby and Bike Assembly Memphis • Boys & Girls Club Locker Renovations New Albany • Columbus Reads Program Phoenix • 9th Habitat for Humanity Home Build Riverwoods • Holiday Event Blanket and Wagon assembly • KaBoom! and Playground Pilots Playground Builds Utah • Monroe Elementary School Playground Build • Jackling Elementary School Tutoring • Ronald McDonald House Charities Employee Giving Program Another way employees helped those in need was through the Employee Giving Program. The Program provided an easy way for employees to make donations to their’ charity of choice. Half of all of our employees participated by giving generously to local and national nonprofit organizations and Discover matched a portion of the donations to further their efforts to make our communities a better place to live. Discover Scholarship Program Our interest in educational initiatives is anchored by the Discover Scholarship Program, now in its 16th year. The program awards $300,000 annually to high school juniors to support continued education and training beyond high school. Since its inception, the program has awarded more than 6,000 students with nearly $16 million to help them achieve their dream of continuing their education. Stay tuned this summer when we announce the 2009 winners on www.discoverfinancial.com In addition, our operations centers and employees supported local schools in need by providing tutoring, mentoring as well as school supplies through center donation drives. We look forward to enhancing this outreach and impacting even more students in 2009. Junior Achievement Part of our education outreach includes partnering with local schools to continue our relationship with the Junior Achievement program. Junior Achievement provides in school and after school programs to students in grades K-12. focusing on business, citizenship, economics, entrepreneurship, ethics/character, financial literacy, and career development. This program was supported by 700 employees reaching more than 5,000 students through classroom involvement as well as fundraising events. Together with our employees’ help, we are committed to making lives brighter in our communities. | |||||
