Banks Answer Clinton's Call To Encourage Volunteerism

Seven bankers and the chief executive of Fannie Mae will join President Clinton today in Philadelphia to urge Americans to devote more time to volunteerism.

The executives are not going empty-handed to the Presidents' "Summit for America's Future"-they have pledged more than $18 million to nonprofit groups and have promised to encourage their employees to volunteer in their communities.

"This is not driven by being in a PR shot with the President," Bank of Boston Corp. chief executive Charles K. Gifford said, "but rather for a stronger economy and strengthening our brand."

Bank of Boston will provide summer jobs to 500 inner-city teenagers, spend $2 million to support volunteerism, and deploy 5,000 volunteers from its work force into the community, Mr. Gifford said.

Dan Salera, the banking company's director of community service, said a summer jobs program it sponsors will team up teenage employees with a mentor.

Citicorp Foundation president Paul M. Ostergard, who plans to attend today's summit, said his institution would spend an extra $5 million during the next three years on its Banking on Education Program, which brings computer technology to inner-city classrooms. It then will use volunteers from its CitiCares program to train students.

NationsBank Corp. has agreed to open 25 centers to help 25,000 students 6 to 12 years old with homework and after-school activities, and First Union Corp. will give all employees four hours of paid leave per month to volunteer in literacy and local school programs.

Fleet Financial Group Inc. has pledged $6 million over three years to open 25 centers in the Northeast to help students with homework, and it promised to give employees two days of paid leave a year for volunteer work.

Chase Manhattan Corp. has promised to spend $700,000 to double, to 10,000, the number of employee volunteers that it supports with grants. BankAmerica Corp. also made a pledge, but details were unavailable.

One of the larger financial commitments comes from the Fannie Mae Foundation. Fannie Mae chief executive James A. Johnson is expected to announce a $5 million pledge to train 50,000 youths to work on reducing homelessness.

Besides President Clinton, former Presidents Bush, Carter, and Ford are expected to attend. The goal of the summit is to give every young American access to five resources-a relationship with a caring adult, good health, safety, access to marketable skills, and the opportunity to give back to the community through service.

The summit comes as the proportion of the population volunteering has fallen to 48%, from 54.8% in 1989, according to statistics from Independent Sector, a national coalition of volunteer groups.

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