Civic 50 Greater Philadelphia 2022 Honoree Spotlight: WSFS Bank

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Describe the main initiative(s) of your CSR program

WSFS Bank supports a variety of events, initiatives and activities throughout the year that enhance the quality of life in our Communities, promote cultural diversity, involve civic leadership, and provide citizen education. We believe we have a responsibility to strengthen the cities and towns where we live, work, play and do business. A spirit of service is an integral part of WSFS’ culture and one of our core values. That way of thinking guides our volunteer and philanthropic efforts, a tradition that began in 1832 and continues today.

Team WSFS, our corporate volunteer program, provides planned opportunities and encourages Associates to volunteer with nonprofits of their choice by providing four paid hours per month to volunteer, and is proud of the impact to the Community over the years. Our dedicated Associates regularly provide financial education lessons to students throughout the Greater Philadelphia and Delaware region.

The WSFS CARES Foundation, the charitable giving arm of WSFS Bank, also helps bring WSFS’ mission of ‘We Stand for Service’ to life across the Communities we serve. The WSFS CARES Foundation’s key pillars of support are focused on Community investments; affordable housing; revitalization and business economic empowerment; education and leadership development; and strengthening those in need.

In 2021, we made approximately $2.2 million in total grants and donations, including more than $600,000 in large dollar grants to 15 organizations and more than $1,600,000 in contributions to 465 other charitable organizations; Associates logged 13,229 volunteer hours; and our annual food drive resulted in 66,000+ pounds of food donated.

What are some of the key learnings you gained, through participation in the Civic 50 Greater Philadelphia?

Participating in the Civic 50 Greater Philadelphia enabled us to benchmark our efforts to help our Communities thrive and compare them to other companies in the region, and identify where we’re achieving our greatest successes and where there are areas of opportunity.

The Impact Report provided as part of the Civic 50 Greater Philadelphia provided solid data surrounding our investment, integration, institutionalization, and impact of our Community efforts. This helped us to focus on areas of opportunity and continue to provide vital support to our Communities. Our dedicated Associates are the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to volunteerism and service; and the Impact Report backed up those efforts with hard data to show where our volunteerism stacks up. The report also emphasized the degree to which service and supporting the Community is integrated into WSFS’ business interests and functions to make a lasting impact in our Communities.

What would you share with a company that is debating whether to take the Civic 50 Greater Philadelphia next year?

The Civic 50 Greater Philadelphia is a great way to measure your company’s Community efforts with those of your peers in the region and identify strengths, weaknesses and areas of opportunity. The Impact Report gives a holistic view of your Company’s efforts, the effect they have, and how they stack up against others with quantitative results and measurement to make informed decisions for the future. The results will enable us to continue building and improving benchmarks and goals for our Community efforts.