Plano is home to a large number of major corporations, some of them being natives while others have relocated from different states and countries. Many of these big businesses give generously to our community, with thousands to millions of dollars donated annually to non-profit organizations. Additionally local employees donate hundreds of hours volunteering to personally enrich the community in which they live or work. These large Plano corporations are making corporate giving a priority.
Boeing Global Services
5905 Legacy Drive, Suite 325
There are roughly 50 leadership team members and some support staff working out of the Boeing Global Services Plano headquarters, which moved to the city in July. (Boeing Global Services has nearly 20,000 employees worldwide.)
Last year, employees of Boeing Global Services, through special projects and other aerospace and defense services, contributed more than $225,000 in the North Texas region and donated hundreds of hours in volunteer service.
According to Dayni Alba, community investor for Boeing Global Engagement, last year the company’s North Texas community partnerships targeted readiness, experiential learning opportunities and adaptability skills in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). One such project included Flight Museum: Young Women’s STEM Leadership Initiative. “Boeing Global Engagement’s strategy is to lend our expertise and resources where we can to support our future, our heroes and our communities that our employees call home,” Alba said.
Employees have volunteered for the following programs and organizations: NPower Veterans IT Training & Apprenticeships for veterans and their spouses; Grapevine-Colleyville ISD extended day STEM programming; North Texas Food Bank Hurricane Harvey Relief; Meals on Wheels Secret Santa & Holiday Meal Deliveries and Marine Toys for Tots DFW Metroplex.
Capital One
7933 Preston Road
Since locating one of its corporate campuses to Plano in 2008, Capital One has proven its commitment to supporting the community. Its decade-long partnership with Plano ISD has allowed Capital One to implement programs that foster creative thinking, inventiveness and experimental problem solving gained through STEAM activities, such as the Barron’s Makerspace Project at Barron Elementary School.
In addition to its educational volunteering efforts, Capital One has been a supporter of Habitat for Humanity of South Collin County for more than a decade. This year, the company took part in building its fourth home as part of the Home Loans Has Heart project. More than 300 Capital One associates volunteered roughly 1,800 hours to help build a family a home in East Plano.
According to Director of Social Innovations Monica Shortino, Capital One’s teams of volunteers accumulated about 27,000 volunteer hours in the DFW area, with more than 14,000 of those in Collin County, from January to October this year. “Giving back to the community through volunteerism is part of our culture,” Shortino said. “Over 60 percent of our associates volunteer each year.”
Dr Pepper Snapple Group
5301 Legacy Drive
Through financial contributions and volunteering, Dr Pepper Snapple gives back to each community it calls home, from its warehouses and manufacturing plants throughout North America to its corporate headquarters in Plano.
“Our mission through our philanthropy program is to foster physically active, engaged and sustainable communities,” said Chris Barnes, Director of Corporate Communications. “We support fit and active lifestyles through our Let’s Play initiative; we support the environment by partnering with organizations such as Keep America Beautiful; and through our Hometown Giving we are able to connect with the communities in which we live and work.”
Dr Pepper Snapple supports a variety of organizations locally, including the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, Girls Inc. of Metropolitan Dallas, and Plano-based My Possibilities, a continuing education organization for adults with disabilities. The corporation has been supporting My Possibilities since it began in 2008.
“In the early days we provided a few vans and buses for transportation,” Barnes said. “Most recently we have committed to donating $500,000 over the next five years to My Possibilities’ capital campaign.” This campaign will help fund the Plano nonprofit’s new campus.
FedEx Office
7900 Legacy Drive
FedEx Office, an operating company of FedEx Corporation, employs approximately 15,000 team members in the United States, with more than 1,200 of them located at its headquarters in Plano, which opened two years ago.
One way team members are given the opportunity to volunteer is through its FedEx Cares program. This program allows team members throughout the country to support FedEx charitable investments and local community needs. “Dedicating their time where they live and work, team members contribute their hard work, skills and hearts to improve communities in need,” said Lissa Smith, community relations advisor for FedEx Office.
According to Smith, employees donate thousands of hours annually to charities and other non-profit organizations. Locally, FedEx Office employees are involved with supporting the North Texas Food Bank, Boys & Girls Clubs of Collin County, Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County, as well as the City of Plano and Dallas Mayor’s Intern Programs.
Frito-Lay
7701 Legacy Drive
Building relationships with Plano and surrounding communities through volunteering is a task Frito-Lay has undertaken since relocating its North American headquarters to Plano in 1985. “Volunteerism is important to many of our associates,” said Senior Manager of Communications Kathy Cloud. “Each year we have dozens of associates who lead and organize participation in the various programs we support and executives who lend their support to driving participation.”
Local philanthropy efforts include partnerships with non-profit organizations that include the American Heart Association, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and Feed the Children. According to Cloud, associates log almost 15,000 volunteer hours annually with these three corporate partners.
The PepsiCo/Frito-Lay United Way Day of Caring is a major volunteer opportunity for DFW-based associates to spend a workday giving back to the community. Last year, $3.4 million in funding was raised, and more than 1,300 associates participated in the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Day of Caring events connecting individuals, groups and large corporations, such as PepsiCo/Frito Lay Inc., with local philanthropic opportunities.
JCPenney
6501 Legacy Drive
JCPenney’s headquarters have been located in Plano since 1992 and community giving has always been part of the corporation’s philanthropic values. Since 2015, more than 100,000 JCPenney associates across the country have donated 67,000 hours of their time and skills to local nonprofits in their community, according to Senior Manager Corporate Communications & Public Relations Kate Coultas.
Locally, through the Volunteer Now program, JCPenney donates in-house samples which are distributed to different charities and nonprofits in DFW.
According to Coultas, through the James Cash Penney grant initiative, JCPenney employees gave more than $3.5 million to approximately 6,200 local charities across the country in 2015 and 2016. Associates who volunteer a certain number of hours each quarter are eligible for the grant, which provides up to $600 per year to a nonprofit of the associate’s choice.
In early December each year, JCPenney sponsors shopping spree events in partnership with local YMCAs. The corporation donates $100 gift cards to approximately 50 children chosen by the non-profit organization. These kids are then given the opportunity to shop for their families using the JCPenney gift cards.
LegacyTexas Bank
5851 Legacy Circle Suite 1200
Serving the Plano community since it first opened in the city 65 years ago, LegacyTexas Bank keeps its philanthropic efforts close to home. According to Communications Director Jennifer Dexter, employees donated almost 700 hours of their time to the following local organizations: Junior Achievement of Dallas, Minnie’s Food Pantry, North Collin County Habitat for Humanity and The Real Estate Council (TREC) Community Fund.
Each holiday season LegacyTexas Bank chooses a specific group or cause to support through its LegacyTexas Cares employee giving program. In 2016, employees chose to focus their efforts on helping the elderly community. Operation Silver Bells was selected as the bank’s holiday campaign, which benefited 375 residents from three local senior living centers within low-to-moderate income areas in Collin, Dallas and Tarrant Counties. Employees have chosen Operation Silver Bells again for their 2017 giving program.
“Donations totaled $21,089 and were used to sponsor holiday events at each center that included catered food, music, games and workshops,” Dexter said. “Each resident was also given a care package filled with toiletries, specialty items, hand signed holiday cards and more. Remaining funds were used to update common areas, purchase equipment and provide books for a new Braille library.”
Liberty Mutual Insurance
Plano’s Legacy West development
Liberty Mutual has long been growing its philanthropic roots within the community. According to Senior Public Relations Consultant Adrianne Kaufmann, the Liberty Mutual Foundation in Texas recently awarded $1 million in grants to local Dallas and Plano non-profit organizations.
Locally, under the annual employee service program “Serve with Liberty,” approximately 60 employees volunteered at Minnie’s Food Pantry in Plano, and nearly 300 employees volunteered at the North Texas Food Bank last year. Liberty Mutual employees supported the North Texas Food Bank Peanut Butter drive this year and last, donating 1,728 jars to the area nonprofit.
Through Liberty Mutual’s 2016 “Give with Liberty” campaign, the annual employee giving program, Plano office employees donated $107,220 to a total of 398 charities, and with the company match, the total Plano office donation was $160,830. These local charities include Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center, Minnie’s Food Pantry, My Possibilities, Hope’s Door and Emily’s Place.
Toyota Motor North America
7910 Legacy Drive
In 2014, after announcing the relocation of its North American headquarters to Plano, Toyota immediately began its pledge of community support through financial contributions to Plano ISD and the North Texas Food Bank, for example. However, as Ana Meade, senior manager community connections for Toyota, explained, “We don’t just look at the dollar side — it’s about more than just cutting a check. Volunteerism is a strong part of our giving philosophy.”
Toyota4Good is a team-member engagement program that was launched here. Although the program allows team members to donate financially, there are more than 4,000 team members working out of the Plano headquarters who share their time and know-how through volunteering. “Toyota4Good allows us to support team members in showing their support of the community, outside of corporate giving,” Meade said.
This spring, through its Toyota4Good program, the company sponsored a field trip to the Sci-Tech Discovery Center in Frisco where team members served as chaperones and science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) educators to more than 100 kids from the Boys & Girls Club of Collin County.
We would have loved to be included in this piece. Let me know if I can send anything on what Rent-A-Center has done to give back to our community. Thanks.