Telecommunications giant AT&T showed its charitable side in Tampa Bay on Friday with a donation to United Way Suncoast.
The check for $22,500 is part of an overall $5.17 million given in 2015 to 550 local United Ways across the country from the AT&T Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm. AT&T employs more than 15,000 people in Florida.
United Way Suncoast CEO Suzanne McCormick welcomed the AT&T contribution, which will support programs that create long-lasting change in the four-county region of DeSoto, Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Sarasota.
“AT&T is a wonderful corporate collaborator, and their generous contribution will go a long way in helping to continue the wonderful work United Way Suncoast does in early literacy, youth success, and financial stability,” McCormick said in a prepared statement. “All of these components are key focus areas of our strategic plan to break the cycle of generational poverty, while connecting people, creating change and impacting lives to make it all happen.”
Attending Friday’s award ceremony was AT&T regional directors Ed Narain, who is also a state representative from Tampa, and Andrew Hall, joined by state Sen. Arthenia Joyner; Miray Holmes, City of Tampa Community Partnerships and Neighborhood Engagement Manager; Tampa Bay United Way Suncoast Area President Emery Ivery and Jennifer Kilburg, United Way Suncoast investor relations director.
“AT&T shares United Way’s commitment to strengthening communities and improving lives,” said Hall. “United Way Suncoast’s support for programs with proven results in our community improves the lives of our citizens by connecting them with resources and expertise that help them succeed.”
For more than 80 years, United Way Suncoast has served as a charitable partner for hundreds of Tampa-area agencies, businesses and civic organizations dedicated to improving lives and advance the common good.
United Way focuses leadership and resources on three key social areas: Early Literacy, helping children in school readiness and early grade reading benchmarks; Youth Success, where children ages 13-18 will graduate high school with the skills necessary to pursue post-secondary education or vocational training; and Financial Stability, which ensures adults achieve long-term financial stability through skills and opportunities for sustaining employment.
AT&T employees also take part in an annual campaign to provide millions of dollars to nonprofit organizations, including United Way. Through this campaign, AT&T employees, including employee members of the Communication Workers of America, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Telecommunications International Union, pledged $36.4 million in 2014.
