PwC Launches Collaboration with DonorsChoose.org

(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) New York - July 18, 2011 - As part of its sixth annual Summer of Community Service, PwC U.S. today announced a strategic relationship with DonorsChoose.org, a leading non-profit that leverages citizen philanthropy to connect individuals to classroom and teacher needs. PwC is making $5 gift cards available to all 30,000 partners and staff in the United States so that they may direct funds to public school teachers to enhance the learning experience in classrooms. PwC will also make available a $20 donation card to staff that volunteer for a firm-sponsored project taking place during the Summer of Community Service. 

The Summer of Community Service enables all 30,000 U.S. partners and staff at PwC to donate their time and skills to help communities around the nation—from tutoring children in math and financial literacy to refurbishing schools and parks—in order to advance the Firm’s long-standing culture of service and giving back. In 2010, PwC employees volunteered more than 53,000 hours, raised more than $145,000 and impacted more than 70,000 children through Summer of Community Service.   “As one of the country’s largest professional services firms, PwC has a vested interest in helping develop our future leaders and giving back to the communities where our people live and work,” said Shannon Schuyler, corporate responsibility leader, PwC. “We see great alignment between DonorsChoose.org and our Firm’s commitment to positively impact youth education and help underserved classrooms across the country.”   “We applaud PwC for its commitment to education and service and are thrilled to be collaborating with them,” said Charles Best, founder and CEO, DonorsChoose.org. “Youth education is one the nation’s foremost priorities, and through commitments like this we are helping provide teachers and students with the tools and resources they need in the classroom.”    PwC's Summer of Community Service builds upon the firm's commitment to corporate responsibility and its focus on supporting youth education. The Firm seeks to address issues affecting all points in the learning continuum, from its relationship with Feeding America to ensure that children are nourished enough to focus in schools to its collaboration with MIND Research Institute, which helps develop the basic building blocks in mathematics.  

PwC collaborates with United Way to help identify opportunities, such as after-school programs, where PwC partners and staff can volunteer their skills. The firm also has a national relationship with The First Tee, whose mission is to impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instil life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through the game of golf.  PwC staff will have an opportunity to engage to volunteer their skills to help students engaged in The First Tee programs.

In addition to unlimited time for firm sponsored volunteering projects, PwC provides 10 hours of paid time off for staff to engage in discretionary volunteer opportunities.
  For more information about PwC's Summer of Community Service, or to access information about the firm’s corporate responsibility commitment, visit: www.pwc.com/us/CorporateResponsibility.   About DonorsChoose.org Founded in 2000 by a social studies teacher in the Bronx, DonorsChoose.org is a nonprofit website where public school teachers describe specific educational projects for their students, and donors can choose the projects they want to support. After completing a project, the donor hears back from the classroom they supported in the form of photographs and student thank-you letters. Requests range from pencils for a poetry writing unit, to violins for a school recital, to microscope slides for a biology class. In the past ten years of operation, residents of 50 states and 10 countries have funded 207,000 student projects, channeling more than $84 million in resources to over 5 million students.

   About the PwC network PwC network firms provide industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to enhance value for their clients. More than 161,000 people in 154 countries across the PwC network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice. See www.pwc.com for more information.   © 2011 PwC. All rights reserved. "PwC" and "PwC US" refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership, which is a member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each member firm of which is a separate and independent legal entity.   PWC15276