Berkshire's Levante Named Regional Voice Lead
Boston, MA and New York, NY – Berkshire Bank and IMPACT 2030 announced today that Berkshire has joined as a collaborating partner. IMPACT 2030 is a private sector led initiative in collaboration with the United Nations and other stakeholders to leverage human capital investments through employee volunteer programs to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Launched in 2015 and signed by 193 world leaders, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals look to end hunger, poverty, improve quality education and address climate action across the globe. IMPACT 2030 directly addresses those goals at the local, national and regional level by facilitating private sector participation through corporate volunteer programs and providing multiple opportunities for engagement and participation. Berkshire Bank joins Google, UPS, IBM, Southwest Airlines, Johnson & Johnson amongst others and is one of the only small-medium sized US based enterprises currently represented in the collaborative.
In addition to joining as a collaborating partner, the Bank and IMPACT 2030 also announced that Gary Levante Berkshire's Asst. Vice President, Community Engagement has been named the Regional Voice Lead for the effort in New England. In his role, he will help elevate awareness of IMPACT 2030, convene stakeholders across the region and serve as a representative to the collaborative. Levante first joined Berkshire in 2010 and manages many of the company's corporate responsibility programs including its nationally acclaimed corporate volunteer program. He's recognized for his expertise in corporate employee engagement and volunteer programs and has been invited to speak throughout the United States.
"We are so pleased to have Berkshire Bank join the ranks of IMPACT 2030 Collaborating Partners, bringing their commitment to human capital investments as a means for creating good through volunteering to bear on our mission. We are also excited to have Gary Levante joining our global network of Regional Voice Leads, sharing his expertise and experience in community engagement in an additional volunteer capacity." Stated Sue Stephenson, Acting Chief Executive, Vice Chair, Advisory Council, IMPACT 2030.
Highlighting Berkshire Bank's involvement in the effort, Levante added, "While international in scope, IMPACT 2030 creates a blueprint to inspire local action and positive change in communities across our footprint. I'm honored to have the opportunity to highlight our belief in the transformative power of volunteerism on a global scale, convene the business community here in New England and encourage the use of their human capital to address the challenges of our time right in our own backyard."
Berkshire Bank is frequently lauded for their efforts in the community, in large part, because of their philanthropic giving, scholarships, environmental efforts and award winning XTEAM® employee volunteer program. Annually the company provides more than $2 million in philanthropic donations and employees donate more than 40,000 hours of service through their XTEAM® employee volunteer program. Berkshire recently completed their Xtraordinary Day of service on June 7, 2017 in which 92% of employees across the country participated. The 65 volunteer projects that day benefited 75 non-profit organizations and impacted more than 435,000 individuals.
About Berkshire Bank
Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE: BHLB) is the parent of Berkshire Bank, America's Most Exciting Bank®. The Company, recognized for its entrepreneurial approach and distinctive culture, has $9.6 billion in assets and 97 full service branch offices in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey and Pennsylvania providing personal and business banking, insurance, and wealth management services. The Company has a pending agreement to acquire Commerce Bancshares Corp., the parent company of Commerce Bank and Trust Company, a $2.2 billion bank with 16 branches in the Worcester, MA and Boston, MA markets. To learn more, visit www.berkshirebank.com, call 800-773-5601 or follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Berkshire Bank is the official bank of NESN's Boston Bruins coverage and the community partner of Boston Seasons at City Hall Plaza.
About Berkshire Bank Foundation
Through foundation grants to nonprofits, scholarships to students, environmental programs, and employee volunteerism, Berkshire Bank is making a difference. Each year the Foundation donates $2 million to nonprofits throughout the Bank's footprint and 100% of bank employees provide over 40,000 hours of service through their XTEAM® corporate volunteer program. Berkshire Bank was named one of Massachusetts' Most Charitable Companies by the Boston Business Journal in 2017. To learn more about Berkshire Bank Foundation, visit www.berkshirebank.com/community
About IMPACT 2030
IMPACT 2030 is the only private sector, partnership-led initiative focused on leveraging employee volunteer programs to directly and substantially contribute to the achievement of the United Nation's global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The initiative takes a collective and multi-sector approach to impact the SDGs and leverages economies of scale by encouraging collective and cooperative volunteering efforts of member organizations globally. Learn more about IMPACT 2030 and join the global movement to leverage human capital to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals at impact2030.com
Contact: Heidi Higgins
Berkshire Bank
Phone: (413) 236-3756
E-Mail: hhiggins@berkshirebank.com
M.A. Miller
Director of Partnerships
E-Mail: partnership@impact2030.com