Ringing in International Corporate Philanthropy Day at the NYSE

For the past 8 years, NYSE Euronext has invited CECP to ring the bell in honor of International Corporate Philanthropy Day (ICPD). As such, on Monday, February 28th, CECP and senior corporate contributions professionals participated in the Opening Bell ceremony, which not only marked the start of the day’s trading, but also officially kicked off CECP’s Board of Boards CEO Conference proceedings uptown at The McGraw-Hill Companies.  As CECP’s representative at the NYSE, I wanted to share some reflections on the experience.   Upon entering the NYSE building, we felt a mix of incredible awe for the history of the institution, coupled with excitement and anxiety that the responsibility of opening the market was bestowed upon our group!  In fact, ringing the New York Stock Exchange Bell is a time-honored tradition.  Bells were introduced at the NYSE when continuous trading arrived in the 1870s, and starting in 1995, groups were regularly invited to participate in the bell ringing ceremonies.   CECP was delighted to be joined by many senior corporate giving professionals for the occasion, including:

• LaMae Allen deJongh, Managing Director, U.S. Human Capital & Diversity, Accenture

• Robin Boggs, Director of U.S. Corporate Citizenship, Accenture

• Paula Davis, President, Alcoa Foundation, Alcoa Inc.

• Kerry H. Sullivan, President, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Bank of America Corporation

• Dave Stangis, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability, Campbell Soup Company

• Annette Nijs, Executive Director, China-Europe International Business School

• Evan Hochberg, National Director, Community Involvement, Deloitte Services LP

• Alisa McDonald, VP, Duke Energy Foundation and Community Affairs, Duke Energy Corporation

• Anne H. Black, Vice President, Office of Corporate Engagement, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

• Jacqueline Millan, Director, Corporate Contributions, PepsiCo

• Dr. Ahmed Samerai, CEO, Sahara Group (UAE)

• Rose Kirk, President, Verizon Foundation, Verizon Communications Inc.

• Brian Malina, Sr. Manager of Communications, Verizon Communications Inc.

• Luella Chavez D'Angelo, President, Western Union Foundation, The Western Union Company

• Tony Tapia, Senior Program Director, Western Union Foundation, The Western Union Company

Read more...   The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) is the only international forum of business leaders focused on corporate philanthropy. Membership includes more than 180 global CEOs and chairpersons of companies that collectively account for more than 40% of reported corporate giving in the United States.

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