Bank officers volunteer at the Rhode island Community Food Bank for a Washington Trust Dare to Care Day. The Washington Trust Company was the recipient of the 2005 Volunteer Center of RI Outstanding Commitment to Volunteerism Award and the 2005 Points of Light Foundation's Award for Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs.

Outstanding Commitment to Excellence in Workplace Volunteerism Award

VCRI also offers the Outstanding Commitment to Volunteerism Award. This annual award is given to an individual and his or her company for adhering to the Principles of Excellence in employee volunteer programs as determined by the Points of Light Foundation. These principles include:
• Company acknowledgment of the contribution of corporate community service in achieving business goals,
• Commitment to encouraging all employees to volunteer,
• Treating the employee volunteer effort as a core business function, and
• Targeting volunteer efforts at serious social problems.

Locally, past honorees have included The Washington Trust Company, Koch Eye Associates, KPMG and Hasbro.

Nationally, the 2005 recipients of the Awards for Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs issued by the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network were:  Aetna, Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc., Federated Department Stores, Inc., Georgia Natural Gas, The Home Depot and our own The Washington Trust Company.

To find out how you and your company can apply for either of these awards, contact Lynne Harper at 401-421-6547 x 106 or e-mail her at lharper@vcri.org.