First Bank of Nigeria Limited organised the second of its Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CR&S) Week from June 19 – 23, 2018. The series of events themed ‘Touching Lives; You First’, offered FirstBank employees the opportunity to give their time and resources in the service of humanity.
The week-long event was celebrated within First Bank’s business communities across Nigeria, United Kingdom, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal, as a reflection of the Bank’s brand promise to always put stakeholder needs first, and its role in driving sustainable development in the communities where it operates.
The CR&S Week is a reiteration of the Bank’s commitment to social responsibility, by promoting random acts of kinds; this year, across 800 communities. The events were tailored towards re-orientating the society along the right values and encouraging the citizenry to intentionally create positive impact in their immediate environment.
Highlights of the 2018 commemoration
Promoting Acts of Random Kindness in over 800 Business Communities– This initiative was launched in 2017 as ‘Staff Promoting Acts of Random Kindness’ and was expanded to give opportunities to everyone who wanted to participate. Consequently, it was tagged ‘Start Promoting Acts of Random Kindness’ (SPARK). A Giving platform was put in place to encourage all interested parties to donate to humanitarian causes. Stakeholders were encouraged to nominate people they believe are deserving of kindness.
Giving and visits to orphanages/less privileged homes across Sub-Saharan Africa and United Kingdom: FirstBank staff drove welfare through visits to the homes of the less privileged and elderly across the Bank’s footprints in Sub-saharan Africa and the United Kingdom to present the items which had been procured based on a prior needs assessment at the chosen locations.
Career counseling for over 3000 students: The Executive Management and staff delivered impactful career counseling sessions with secondary school students across the regions to inculcate financial literacy and inclusion in young students.
Provision of Vision Screening and Eye Glasses for 2000 People: The Bank partnered with VisionSpring to provide vision screening and affordable eye glasses for consumers earning less than $4 per day. This initiative was structured around three social impact themes: See to Earn, See to Learn, and See to be Safe to impact the lifestyles of their communities
Empowerment for over 500 Widows: As part of the week’s activities, FirstBank also celebrated the International Widows Day (IWD) on June 23, 2018 and partnered with the International Women’s Society (IWS) to empower women, especially widows that were present at an event organised to celebrate the IWD.
FirstBank’s CR&S Week is the first of its kind in the Financial Service industry in Nigeria and it is tailored to spotlight the Bank’s corporate citizenship interventions to drive positive impact across various communities all in one week. The Bank encouraged people everywhere to step out of their comfort zones, perform random acts of kindness, post pictures and tag FirstBank on social media using the hash tag #FirstBankCRSWeek on Facebook – facebook.com/firstbankofnigeria; Twitter – @firstbankngr and Instagram – @firstbanknigeria
