Community

A strong community is made up of many different groups, each bringing unique perspectives that contribute to the fabric of Canadian culture and a strong economy. CIBC is committed to supporting organizations that assist Canadians in need by encouraging leadership, civic engagement, and independent living; celebrating the diversity of our communities; and encouraging the volunteer spirit of our employees. CIBC’s flagship community program is our annual CIBC United Way campaign for employees and retirees. Annual CIBC United Way campaign Canadian Women’s Foundation National Indspire Achievement Awards Other ways we contribute Supporting communities in crisis

CIBC United Way campaign Our partnership with the United Way, which dates back more than 70 years, aims to invest funds in community service agencies that make a real difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of families across Canada. In 2011, CIBC’s impressive campaign achievements demonstrated a remarkable dedication to United Way’s mission.
See how CIBC employees support the United Way in their communities across Canada		What Is CIBC Doing? CIBC is strengthening communities by addressing issues of: Skills development Employment opportunities Financial Literacy Access to community services Equality and diversity

Our employees generated more than $8.5 million to the United Way chapters across Canada. Employees and retirees involved in the campaign raised close to $5 million of that amount through personal donations and hundreds of volunteer fundraising events.

This represents an increase of 8% over the previous year. In addition, many of our employees participated in United Way Days of Caring across Canada throughout the year.

In addition, close to 5,000 employees participated in United Way tours, agency visits and Days of Caring throughout the year.

	For what matters			CIBC’s CEO chairs 2012 United Way of Greater Toronto campaign Learn more »

CIBC employees discover the difference United Way makes in their local communities
Kamloops CIBC Branch helps the homeless
Judy Marchese is the Assistant Branch Manager and the United Way Representative at the Sahali Banking Centre in Kamloops. Little did she know that when she suggested to her local United Way that CIBC employees visit an agency to see their donations dollars at work, she would be creating a ripple effect of care. In the fall, employees planned, prepared food and hosted a dinner for men at a homeless shelter in addition to a coat drive.

“For the first time ever, the United Way Thompson, Nicola and Cariboo organized a “Seeing is Believing Tour,” where 24 staff from all Kamloops branches visited five agencies over two days. This really made staff aware of the various issues our community faces. I know I was astonished about the number of homeless youth in Kamloops,” Says Marchese.

Finance team inspired to help fight hunger
First time volunteer Peter Ward, a Senior Director in CIBC Finance, was shocked by what he saw when he participated in a United Way Day of Caring at the Red Cross Mobile Food Bank. Fourteen other employees from the Corporate CFO Group participated in this Day of Caring. After returning to the office, they talked about what else they could do to help the Red Cross, especially during the summer months, when food donations are at their lowest. They decided to hold a food drive and this has now extended across all of Finance.

“There is a huge feeling of gratification after volunteering that you simply don’t get when you write a cheque,” says Ward. “I will continue to donate to the United Way, but now I want to do even more. As a first-time volunteer, it has been a completely humbling experience.”

Capacity building with Wholesale Bank employees
Cecil Cheng, an Executive Director in Wholesale Banking, lives by the age-old adage of “teaching a man to fish,” After attending a Day of Caring at the United Way agency Sistering, he knew he could do more. When Cecil asked what the biggest obstacle is for Inspirations Studio, he learned about their challenge in tapping into the market to gain institutional customers. Right away, Cecil knew how his group could help.

“Since my team attended the Day of Caring, we’ve held weekly workshops with Inspirations Studio to help them develop and execute their specific value proposition,” says Cheng. “We could have bought their pottery and contributed that way, but I believe in teaching a man to fish. We are now helping build capacity for the organization to compete and succeed in the marketplace.”

Employees in Atlantic Canada helping their community
In rural communities across Canada, people often wonder how donations to the United Way help their immediate community. The CIBC First Westmorland Shopping Centre Banking Centre held a cereal drive for their local food bank, others participated in a Day of Caring to help build a community centre, and on June 22 each branch had a BBQ or bake sale with the goal to raise $150.

“Thank you to all the Community Champions in the branches who contributed so much to the United Way Campaign,” says Dan Sherstenka, District Branch Manager, New Brunswick. “It was a team effort with tremendous results and something we can all be proud of.”

Back to top ^

Canadian Women’s Foundation
CIBC has been a long-time supporter of the Canadian Women’s Foundation – Canada’s only national public foundation for women and girls.

Our most recent commitment of $1 million will support the economic development and endowment funds the Foundation has established to help low-income women build sustainable livelihoods and careers.

	For what matters			A Canadian Women’s Foundation story Learn more »

Back to top ^

National Indspire Achievement Awards
CIBC is proudly continuing its lead sponsorship of the annual Indspire Achievement Awards (formally know as National Aboriginal Achievement Awards). The 16th annual awards carried on the tradition of recognizing outstanding career achievements of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in diverse occupations, including one award given to a lifetime achievement recipient and one for an outstanding youth achiever.

CIBC’s support to Indspire included $100,000 in annual funding for scholarships and bursaries. Annual contributions to this program date back to 2000 and total $1.2 million.

In addition to acknowledging some of the Aboriginal community’s brightest talents, the awards aim to build self esteem and pride and provide valuable role models for Aboriginal youth.

Indspire is a nationally registered non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds to deliver programs that provide the tools necessary for Aboriginal peoples, especially youth to achieve their potential. Since 1985 the Foundation through its Education Program has awarded more than $32-million in scholarships and bursaries to more than 8,400 First Nations, Inuit and Métis students nationwide.

“We are pleased to play a role in recognizing the significant achievements of the award recipients,” says Gerry McCaughey, CIBC’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “These individuals have excelled in their respective fields, ranging from business to the arts, media, the environment, and law and justice. In doing so, they have made a valuable contribution to Canada’s development while also setting an important example in their communities.

Back to top ^

Other ways we contribute
CIBC also supports hundreds of local programs in communities across Canada. Some of these include:

Skills for Change As part of our ongoing commitment with Skills for Change, CIBC sponsored Pioneers for Change, an evening of five short films that was shot through the eyes of prominent Canadians who have championed immigration issues and played a role in furthering Canada’s economic prosperity. Skills for Change is known for pioneering programs that respond to shifting immigration and workplace trends and lead to employment. A range of accelerated programs are offered to fit the needs of the people arriving from all parts of the world. “Skills for Change is deeply connected to clients and invested in their success. As a key supporter for Pioneers for Change, the Diversity@Work conference and Mentoring for Change, CIBC enriches our programming in ways that we could not achieve with government funding alone. Without our partnership with CIBC, we would not be able to deliver on our mission statement “We envision a Canada where every immigrant succeeds,” says Surranna Sandy, Interim Executive Director, Skills for Change.

Canadian Centre for Child Protection
Four years ago, CIBC made a multi-year $1 million commitment to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (CCCP). The Canadian Centre for Child Protection is a charitable organization dedicated to the personal safety of all children whose goal is to reduce child victimization by providing programs and services to Canadians.

Since then pictures of missing children have appeared on the back of VISA envelopes reaching thousands of CIBC clients and MissingKids.ca was launched creating a one-stop resource centre for families of missing children.

Our donation directly supports MissingKids.ca, which offers families support in finding their missing child and provides educational materials to help prevent children from going missing. As a resource centre, MissingKids.ca partners with police and other stakeholders in the search for missing children.

ACCES
A $5,000 contribution from CIBC is helping connect employers with qualified employees from diverse backgrounds with the help of the Speed Mentoring® Program at ACCES Employment.

The program was developed by ACCES Employment to allow new Canadians to meet with professionals in their field in a short and condensed timeframe. ACCES Employment assists job seekers from diverse backgrounds, who are facing barriers to employment, to integrate into the Canadian job market.

They achieve this by providing employment services, linking employers to skilled people and building strong networks in collaboration with community partners.

Back to top ^

Supporting communities in crisis
In 2012, we helped a number of communities across Canada and the United States cope with natural disasters.

• We contributed $5,000 to the residents of Nahanni Butte during the summer of 2012 to support families affected by severe flooding in their community.
• In addition a fundraising account was opened at CIBC’s Fort Simpson branch by Canadian Zinc Corporation, with funds collected totaling $30,000.
• On April 23 there was an explosion at Prince George’s Lakeland Mills sawmill, killing two. In the wake of the tragic explosion, CIBC made a $10,000 donation to the Prince George Community Foundation, a central agency designated to accept donations on behalf of the Lakeland Mills employees and their families.
• We contributed $2,500 to the Amherst Fire Disaster through the Canadian Red Cross Society to support victims of a major fire in an apartment complex in Amherst, Nova Scotia on August 27, 2012. Twenty-four families lost everything in the fire and more than 40 people were left homeless.
• On May 28, 2012 a state of emergency was declared in Thunder Bay due to extreme flooding. Many homes, city structures and sewer systems were flooded as parts of the city received more than 100 millimeters of rain.CIBC donated $10,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to help Thunder Bay families affected by this tragedy.
• Towards the end of 2012, CIBC contributed $50,000 to support the American Red Cross’ relief efforts following Hurricane Sandy. CIBC joined other individuals and organizations to get essential supplies and assistance to those whose lives were affected by the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. Many CIBC colleagues, clients, family and friends were impacted by this disaster.

Back to top ^