BNY Mellon Contributes More Than $11 Million And 8,000 Hours Of Volunteer Service To New York-area Nonprofits During 2012

NEW YORK, Dec. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- BNY Mellon, the global leader in investment management and investment services, and its employees donated more than $11 million and 8,000 hours of volunteer service to New York-area nonprofits during 2012.

BNY Mellon's philanthropic focus on Powering Potential helps people in need by concentrating on basic needs and workforce development opportunities.  Through the program, BNY Mellon supports programs and initiatives that make local communities better places to live and work, particularly by targeting organizations that provide food, clothing, energy and housing assistance to those who need immediate help, and improve access to employment through job training and skills development.

"By combining our financial resources with the volunteer power of our employees, we're strengthening our communities and making meaningful and measurable differences for individuals, children and families in need," said Daisey Holmes, BNY Mellon's head of philanthropy and volunteer programs in the New York region.

For 2012, Powering Potential funding included:

• Disaster Relief  – More than $1.1 million to the American Red Cross and many local agencies to provide disaster relief and recovery assistance for those most impacted by Hurricane Sandy.  Funding supported immediate emergency response efforts offering food and temporary shelter, as well as rebuilding efforts being led by Habitat for Humanity and Rebuilding Together. 
• Veterans Initiative – More than $450,000 to support employment and training programs for returning servicemen and women to successfully transition back into civilian life; support for military families to pursue educational training, licensing and certification to increase employability; and housing assistance to prevent homelessness among the veteran population;               
• Food and Shelter – More than $2 million directed towards programs that provide clothing for youth, temporary and permanent housing for homeless individuals and families, nutritional education, food stamp access, and the distribution of more than 880,000 meals. 
• Education – More than $1.1 million to support programs that improve high school graduation rates of students; mentoring programs that provide meaningful relationships to at-risk in-school youth including youth transitioning out of foster care; youth internship programs; and scholarship assistance for low-income students.
• Workforce Training – More than $580,000 to support programs that offer skills training for multiple entry points into industries including culinary arts, information technology, healthcare janitorial services and office positions; resume building, job readiness training and professional certification for individuals entering workforce for the first time; and a pre-professional development program for undergraduates.

BNY Mellon also provided approximately $1 million to arts and cultural organizations to improve access to their programs and performances for students and audiences.

In addition to these local contributions, BNY Mellon and its employees around the globe donated more than $33 million and volunteered more than 50,000 hours in 2012.

In 2012, the company continued its support of its Powering Potential Pathways Program, a $6 million, five-year global workforce development initiative to assist vulnerable youth making the transition into adulthood.  In addition to providing grants to its Pathways partners and holding local workshops on financial literacy and resume writing and interviewing, the company hosted a thought leadership summit to explore the challenges of youth aging out of foster care and determine best practices for enabling educational advancement and employment opportunities.  For more information about the Pathways Program, visit www.bnymellon.com/pathways.

BNY Mellon also remained committed to quickly helping those in need.  In response to Hurricane Sandy, it donated $1 million to organizations supporting the relief efforts, which included the American Red Cross, a supported charity in the company's Disaster Relief Matched Giving program.  In addition, BNY Mellon launched several programs to help victims of the storm.  Its Neighbor-to-Neighbor volunteer program supports employees who are helping their neighbors with storm damage and matches employees' time for the work they are doing with contributions to the American Red Cross.  To help its employees who have been most severely impacted by this disaster, BNY Mellon also established a fund that covers their expenses that are not covered by FEMA or insurance.  In addition, the company created a separate program to provide immediate cash grants to employees in instances of immediate and extreme hardship.

Learn more about Powering Potential or the company's world-wide commitment to social responsibility at www.bnymellon.com/csr.

BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 36 countries and serving more than 100 markets.  BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, offering superior investment management and investment services through a worldwide client-focused team.  It has $27.9 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $1.4 trillion in assets under management, services $11.6 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.4 trillion per day.  BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK).  Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com or follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon.

SOURCE BNY Mellon

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