St. Paul Travelers Combines Giving and Volunteering

St. Paul Travelers and its two private foundations donated more than $8.4 million in the first six months of 2004 to support community organizations based in the Twin Cities and Hartford, Conn. regions, as well as organizations based in various communities across the United States. The company also participated in a number of volunteer partnerships with several of the organizations that received funding and provided many hours of service to assist community programs and schools.

"As a newly merged company with 30,000 employees nationwide, we have an ability to make a positive difference in communities through a combination of time, talent and funding," said Mary Pickard, president of the St. Paul Travelers Foundation. "These grant awards, coupled with the many strong volunteer partnerships company employees have with local organizations, demonstrate St. Paul Travelers' ongoing commitment to improve the communities where we work and live."

An example of the company's coupling of charitable giving and employee volunteering can been seen in its recent support for The Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. The theatre received a $30,000 foundation grant from St. Paul Travelers to support a number of projects, including the Snapshot Silhouette Around Series. The series included several events focused on the world premiere performance of "Snapshot Silhouette," a play exploring the world of two girls: one African American, the other Somali. St. Paul Travelers employees serving on the company's Arts and Diversity Committee - a group of employees who offer volunteer assistance to projects that communicate diversity and offer arts programming to low-income communities - helped organize and staff several educational and discussion events for the Snapshot series.

Overall, from January through June 2004, St. Paul Travelers and its two private foundations collectively made 291 grants or charitable gifts in three focus areas geared toward fostering strong, healthy and vital communities. The grant and gift awards include:

• 107 grants to education organizations, totaling $3,379,950;
• 94 grants to community development organizations, totaling $3,185,850; and
• 90 grants to arts and culture organizations, totaling $1,871,750.

For a complete list of grants (PDF, 22 pages), visit the St. Paul Travelers' Web site.

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