Capital One Recognized With U.S. President's Volunteer Service Award

Junior Achievement's corporate volunteers provide positive role models for local students and encourage community service
Mar 7, 2013 12:15 PM ET
Campaign: Volunteerism

MCLEAN, Va., March 7, 2013 /3BL Media/ – At its quarterly Board of Directors meeting held this week, Junior Achievement USA® (JA) presented Capital One with a 2011-2012 Gold U.S. President's Volunteer Service Award for providing the organization with more than 15,000 volunteer hours during the 2011-2012 school year.

President George W. Bush established the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation (the Council) in 2003 to recognize the valuable contributions volunteers make in communities and encourage more people to serve. The Council created the President's Volunteer Service Award program as a way to thank and honor Americans who, by their demonstrated commitment and example, inspire others to engage in volunteer service. In 2006, Junior Achievement became an official certifying organization for this award, which also recognizes corporations with a U.S. presence that provide volunteers to teach JA programs anywhere in the world.

“At Capital One, community engagement and investment have always been about much more than simply writing a check -- they are an integral part of our corporate culture and identity,” said Carolyn Berkowitz, President, Capital One Foundation and Managing Vice President, Community Affairs, Capital One Financial Corporation. “This award is a reflection of the dedication and commitment of our associates to partner with local nonprofits like Junior Achievement to help individuals and communities thrive.”

Capital One is one of only 33 JA corporate partners to be honored with a President’s Volunteer Service Award this year. The entire list of recipients is located here.

“Junior Achievement volunteers play a key role in bringing Junior Achievement to life. By sharing their personal and professional experiences and skills with students in their communities, volunteers help young people to make a connection between what they are learning in school and what they will need to succeed in work and life. In so doing, they support students, their local communities and America's economic competitiveness," said Jack E. Kosakowski, president and CEO of Junior Achievement USA. "The U.S. President's Volunteer Service Award is an outstanding way to acknowledge Capital One and its employee-volunteers, who demonstrate a commitment to their communities and encourage others to make volunteering a priority.”

Larry A. Leva, global vice chairman of Quality and Risk Management for KPMG International and chairman of Junior Achievement USA, added, "By recognizing and honoring volunteers, we shine a spotlight on everyday heroes who are working to address pressing social challenges. We are also setting a standard for service and fostering civic participation."

The Capital One and Junior Achievement partnership is of long-standing. Since 2003, Capital One and Junior Achievement have worked together to ensure that students have the opportunity, tools and resources they need to grow up to become self-reliant adults. Thousands of students from across the country benefit from innovative Junior Achievement programs in partnership with Capital One, including activities like Capital One/Junior Achievement Finance Park, JA Finance Park, JA Finance Park Virtual, JA in A Day and Bowl-a-Thons. Seventeen associates serve on Junior Achievement Boards at the national and local levels, lending their professional talents to help the organization continue to achieve its mission.

About Junior Achievement USA® (JA)  
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches 4.2 million students per year in more than 120 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.8 million students served by operations in 120 other countries worldwide. Visit www.ja.org for more information.

About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, is a Fortune 500 company with more than 900 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Its subsidiaries, Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A. offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. We apply the same principles of innovation, collaboration and empowerment in our commitment to our communities across the country that we do in our business. We recognize that helping to build strong and healthy communities - good places to work, good places to do business and good places to raise families - benefits us all and we are proud to support this and other community initiatives.

Contact: Stephanie Bell
(719) 540-6171
sbell@ja.org

Contact: Shelley Solheim
(917)-589-6203
Shelley.Solheim@capitalone.com