Philanthropy

In celebration of World Water Day on March 22, Xylem launched a month-long volunteer challenge that extended through Earth Day on April 22 for Xylem colleagues across the globe to highlight the importance of water and environmental issues.

Cox Communications and The Trust for Public Land are recognizing volunteers who are creating, preserving or enhancing shared outdoor spaces. Finalists for Virginia’s Cox Conserves Heroes program were announced today, and the public is being asked to vote now through Tuesday, June 6.

Microsoft Philanthropies on Monday announced the expansion of TEALS (Technology Education and Literacy in Schools), which pairs technology professionals with teachers to “co-teach” computer science. The TEALS program will add nearly 100 schools in the United States, and will recruit 1,100 volunteers, for the coming school year. Volunteers come from companies ranging from small startups to large brands such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft Corp., among others. Volunteers are invited to apply through the TEALS website.

Healthy waterways are vital to the communities Duke Energy serves. But we can’t do it alone. Over the past two years, Duke Energy’s Water Resources Fund has helped fund 59 projects by organizations across the Carolinas and Virginia, providing support for the good work done by others.

In the last few months Bloomberg has doubled down in particular on his initiatives to fight climate change, with a new book (Climate of Hope: How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save the Planet), a new role at the UN, and a global “covenant” among mayors that he’s leading.

Let’s get real: It’s fairly easy for us to pull up to our desks each morning, put our heads down, and not look up till it’s time to go home in the evening. After all, in our rapidly-changing, quickly-moving, information-overloading world, there’s a lot of work to get done.

This week, leaders from business, government, academia and the press gathered in Tokyo as part of our global newsmaker series for a discussion on the changing foundation and dynamics of working life in Japan.

An army of volunteers from TripAdvisor’s Needham headquarters turned out on May 5 to remove plants from the grassland meadows just inside the entrance to Needham's Ridge Hill Reservation with the help of Keep Massachusetts Beautiful.

Harris is the managing director and senior client advisor at financial services giant Morgan Stanley. The author of the book “Expect to Win: Proven Strategies for Success from a Wall Street Vet,” she is considered to be among the most influential women in the financial services sector. Harris plans to share with conference attendees some of the valuable lessons learned during her 20-plus year career on Wall Street.

Accelerating economic development remains one of the top priorities for mayors around the country, with an increasing focus on intentionally targeting socioeconomic issues, such as income inequality. Seventy-five percent of mayors highlighted economic development in their 2016 State of the City address, according to the National League of Cities, with 22 percent looking specifically at providing greater support to small businesses and 17 percent mentioning businesses owned by women and people of color.