American Express encourages staff to participate
in social activities
Giving back to society is one of the values of the
Blue Box (logo of American Express). But
with a difference—employee volunteerism forms an
important part of the community services that the bank
involves itself in.
“Employee volunteerism is one of the
fundamental values at American Express across the world.
Every event in the community service is put together with
the involvement of the employees,” says Rajiv
Ahuja, director, Public Affairs, India and area
countries, American Express Bank Ltd. “We encourage our
employees to volunteer their time to community projects
and be good corporate citizens. Our employee-volunteers
have worked with several NGOs and put together
events for hundreds of underprivileged children,”
he adds.
In fact, the employees involvement extends to the decision
level as well. Every CSR initiative that the bank takes is
duly discussed by the employees and a decision reached
thereafter. “It was by vote and consensus of our
employees that we have decided to focus on children,”
says Ahuja.
This is reflected in the initiatives that the company has
undertaken over the years. Employees have volunteered to
work for Tamana, an NGO working for Autistic
children. Not only did they contribute with their
money and time to interact with the children but they also
pitched in their labour to white-wash the school building.
Recently, the bank organised special screening of
Spider Man II (in Hindi) for over 800
underprivileged children at Sangam theatre in New Delhi.
Again, the employees of the bank took their time off to be
the part of the programme.
To encourage employee volunteerism, the bank has set up a Global
Volunteer Action Fund. The fund is used to
support CSR initiatives taken by employees and also to
reward them for their volunteer service. The programme,
thus, gives the employees an opportunity to direct the
American Express Foundation’s philanthropic spending.
Among its other CSR activities, the company supports
programmes to protect architectural heritage.
The Jaisalmer Conservation initiative is one example of
this. The bank contributed $190,000 towards the
restoration of the Jaisalmer Fort, which is facing serious
pressures from growing population and tourism. “The
grant not only supports the conservation programme but
also serves to draw public attention to the issue,” says
Ahuja.
The Jaipur Heritage Trail is another programme where the
bank is helping the Department of Tourism, Art and
Culture, Rajasthan in providing authentic information to
tourists and guide visitors to monuments in Jaipur through
a trail.
The bank has also set up a corpus of $100,000 to
support the artisans of India. Twenty-six grants,
ranging between $1000 to $5000, have been given through
this fund to craft groups across India. These groups
collectively represent more than 15,000 artisans,
including those affected by the earthquake in Gujarat and
floods in Orissa. The grants have been given to artisans
working in a wide range of craft media, including pottery,
natural fibers, carved wood, handloom textiles, and
embroidery.
August 15, 2004
