Verizon Foundation President Addresses Future Leaders of Philanthropy and Civic Engagement

Verizon Foundation President Rose Kirk with attendees from the Washington Center's Panel on Private Sector Philanthropy and Civic Engagement.

Verizon Foundation President Rose Kirk led a panel discussion on Private Sector Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at The Washington Center, in Washington, DC, on June 27.

Sitting alongside impressive leaders from the United Nations Foundation, the Comcast Foundation, the NY Stock Exchange Foundation and the HANDFoundation, Kirk facilitated a lively debate about what corporate citizenship really means and how the public judges a company’s corporate responsibility efforts.

“The passion and vibrancy of the 500+ college juniors and seniors from all over the world had me buzzing,” Kirk said. “The students’ questions were thoughtful and insightful and I could tell they shared a common appreciation for corporate responsibility.”

Kirk also touched on the importance of promoting volunteerism in her role at the Verizon Foundation.

“Providing our employees meaningful volunteer opportunities does what Rosabeth Kanter at Harvard Business School calls going from ‘spare change to real change’,” Kirk said.

She closed the panel by challenging the 500 students at the Washington Center to be good citizens by volunteering their time in their communities. And upon graduation, to become good corporate citizens by identifying potential employers that value corporate responsibility like Verizon.

To learn more about Verizon’s corporate responsibility efforts, visit verizon.com/responsibility.