Whirlpool Corporation welcomes 2019 with much excitement, but we're still taking time to reflect and celebrate the innovation, volunteerism, sustainability and news stories of 2018.

CIT Bank N.A., the banking subsidiary of CIT Group Inc., today announced a $350,000 grant in support of Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles (NHS). The grant is CIT’s second for the organization and will provide affordable lending, financial education and real estate services to 4,500 low- and moderate-income residents across Los Angeles County.

Sabinas is a city of 63,000 residents in the northern state of Coahuila, México. Since 1990, Avomex, the local subsidiary of MegaMex in México, has been producing Wholly Guacamole® dips. Due to the economic conditions of Sabinas, the city did not have a fire truck. So Avomex decided to help. On Dec. 14, 2018, MegaMex Foods and Avomex donated a fire truck to the local fire department. This was a major event in which several local authorities participated. The Mayor of Sabinas, Cuauhtémoc Rodríguez, received the keys to the truck from MegaMex Foods. The modern, fully equipped truck will be used to fight fires and help with other types of local emergencies.

HP has long recognized that access to education is crucial to powering the creativity and innovation that our industry thrives on. From a business perspective, access to education increases diversity, drives new business, and attracts and retains the best employees. But much more than that, education is a fundamental human right.

In 1992, as a young HIV/AIDS researcher in her native Netherlands, Hanneke Schuitemaker, Ph.D., now Vice President, Global Head of Viral Vaccine Discovery and Translational Medicine, Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V., was devoted to learning as much as she could about the disease—and saw her role as that of a researcher, rather than someone who closely interacted with people who were living with HIV.

I have worked within the environment, health and safety (EHS) field for more than 20 years, and in that time, I’ve seen some dramatic changes in how companies manage their programs, and data. But nothing compares to the technological innovations that are now upon us.

Sysco and NRG Energy have been recognized by Smart Energy Decisions for our efforts in Renewable Energy Sourcing.

Sands Cares, the corporate giving and community engagement program of Las Vegas Sands, is dedicated to being a good corporate citizen, committed to its people, communities in which it operates and the planet. In each region, Sands Cares has Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) leads that manage the program and execute initiatives unique to each region. Born and raised in Singapore, Joyce Siew graduated with a degree in English and Sociology and began her career in various communications related roles in both the public and private sector, before joining Marina Bay Sands’ communications and CSR team in 2012.

Cisco technology and people are accelerating global problem solving in ways that have never been attempted before. From solving customers’ business challenges to tackling the toughest social and environmental issues of our time, we are helping to make the impossible possible.