Tori Kaplan
Director of Corporate Citizenship and Special Events
CSX Corporation
2011 Corporate Philanthropy
“Be a positive influence on communities and the environment” is a part of CSX’s core values. CSX is the largest National Team Sponsor of City Year, a nonprofit which aims to unite young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service to enact change in the world. Through philanthropic donations and employee volunteerism, CSX supports city Year programs including the “In School and on Track” youth empowerment program. Through this program, City Year and its supporters are planning to reach 50 percent of the most at-risk students in 20 cities around the country within five years.
At the end of 2010, CSX hosted a City Year event, engaging more than 2,000 employees—from rail yard masters to the corporate leadership—to help change the lives of more than 7,000 students targeted by the “In School and on Track” program. CSX helped to purchase and assemble 57 bags full of gym equipment, 110 Scrabble board games, 22 bulletin boards, and 6,400 backpacks full of school supplies. CSX employees then delivered these supplies to schools in communities where they live and work and spent time with the students and teachers, seeing the impact of their contributions firsthand.
In addition to the supplies employees delivered, they wrote more than 1,100 letters of encouragement to students, reminding them that school is important to their future and they have the ability to succeed.
Giving back at CSX means taking the time to ensure that students at schools with some of the highest dropout rates have the supplies and encouragement they need to succeed. The hardworking men and women at CSX believe that being committed to what really matters is more than just donating to worthy causes—that’s why CSX’s leaders have made volunteerism a way of life for all cSX employees.
CSX Corporation
Corporate Headquarters: Jacksonville, Florida
Website: www.csx.com
Primary Business: Freight Transportation
Employees: 30,000