Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. doesn’t always know when its charitable help will be needed.
Witness the tornado that devastated parts of Ohio in November and left thousands without power. It’s in those crisis situations that FirstEnergy not only helps restore the power, but also works with the Red Cross to provide shelter and services to people whose homes were destroyed.
“The American Red Cross is a natural partner,” says Mary Beth Carroll, FirstEnergy vice president of community involvement and president of the FirstEnergy Foundation. “If there is a disaster, people need their electricity service restored fast, but they also need other services, so it makes sense that we would work together.”
With more than 4.3 million customers, FirstEnergy knows about energy efficiency. That’s why working with Habitat For Humanity International to build energy efficient homes for low-income residents makes sense for the utility company.
This year, it gave $3.4 million for the construction of 54 homes in its Ohio service area, with strict requirements so that the houses were energy efficient to keep utility bills low.
“A good number of those houses have also had employees help out with the building,” Carroll says. “Employee involvement is crucial with any kind of community projects we do.”
FirstEnergy supports more than 2,000 organizations in its three-state service area and donated more than $6.4 million last year in funds and services. But the demand for its charitable help is much larger than the $2 billion company can provide.
So how does it choose which organizations to support? It starts with the employees.
“If there’s a grassroots effort and we have 100 people who want to support this organization or take part in this event, we should be supporting them,” Carroll says. “People who are in leadership roles here at FirstEnergy, we need to be there, too. Both are equally important.”
One part of community service that is seldom talked about — but always considered — is how it supports the business interests of the company. Carroll says the two concerns fall together naturally.
“I would suggest anything we do in terms of our community involvement is going to be parallel to the business interests,” Carroll says. “If there are projects and programs that are good for any of our local economies or the regional economy, it’s good for us. We certainly would be supporting capital campaigns, other projects of that type that are good for more than our company, but would be also beneficial to us.” How to reach: FirstEnergy Corp., (330) 761-4112
