#expressyourthanks

Who are we talking about? Bank of America

How are they giving back? Express Your Thanks Campaign

What’s it all about? Bank of America launched this campaign for the first time last year and its success and public support have recreated it for another year with an even bigger goal. The Express Your Thanks campaign allows customers, bank employees, and the public to make simple online expressions of their gratitude to the country’s service men and women by posting a photo, story, or kind word on the Bank of America’s Troop Thanks webpage. For each post, Bank of America will donate $1 to support the missions of the Welcome Back Veterans organization and Wounded Warrior Project. Participants can also share their thanks on Twitter and tag it with #troopthanks to enact a donation as well. Posting on the website as well as on Twitter will generate double the donations. Bank of America hopes to reach $1 million in donations by the program’s end date, set for Veteran’s Day, this coming Monday. The campaign was launched on Memorial Day of this year with a partnership with Charlotte Motor Speedway and Major League Baseball to allow fans to express their thanks in their teams’ stadiums until June 9th. Later in the year, the Express Your Thanks campaign was activated in other key sporting events and markets such as the MLB All-Star Game and with National Football League teams like the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots. Select messages from the Troop Thanks page have been highlighted in Times Square throughout the campaign.

When did this happen? The campaign began its second year on Memorial Day 2013 and is still in effect. This year’s run will come to a close on Veteran’s Day, which is this Monday, November 11th.

Do we understand one another? According to the Bank of America website, the company has been supporting active military members and their families for more than 90 years by routinely hiring service men and women. Today, Bank of America has more than 6,000 military service members and veterans working for the company. They have found themselves on G.I. Jobs magazine’s list of military-friendly employers and received awards from the Department of Defense and Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve for their unique treatment of and respect for those who serve our country. Additionally, Bank of America has donated more than $9 million towards nonprofits that serve the military since 2009 and has built countless homes for military families in need. Giving back to our service members is a part of Bank of America’s corporate genetic code. Within their branches, Bank of America offers specialized mortgage support and programs for military customers and their families that strive to make returning to their lives a little easier. Bank of America’s Senior Military Affairs Executive, Jeff Cathey said, “With more than 250,000 service men and women leaving active duty this year alone, raising awareness of the unique challenges they face as they integrate back into the workforce is more important than ever. Through our Express Your Thanks campaign, we’re helping foster a real connection between the public and our military in a meaningful and easy way while supporting programs like Wounded Warrior Project and Welcome Back Veterans, which help these heroes make their transition back to civilian life.” The sheer fact that Bank of America has an active and funded Military Affairs department proves the company is committed to helping our service members and is genuinely and intimately tied to campaigns like Express Your Thanks.