CSR: FCMB Donates to Orphans on Children’s Day - May 27, 2009

As part of its corporate citizenship and in celebration of this year’s International Children’s Day, First City Monument Bank Plc (FCMB) has made valuable donations of food items, provisions, and non perishable items to orphans and vulnerable children in Lagos and Rivers States.
Staff of the bank visited and made the donations at Freedom Foundations’ Bethesda Child Support Agency, in Lagos, and Compassionate Children’s Home, Nkpogu in Rivers State.
Bethesda Child Support Agency, a affiliate of Freedom Foundation, is an implementing partner of FCMB under the bank’s community investment initiative. Since 2007, FCMB has been sponsoring the education of secondary school pupils through the Bethesda Child Support programme. Bethesda presently has 352 orphaned and vulnerable children in its child support programme covering diverse areas like Mushin, Surulere, Isale Gangan and Ajegunle. Ten of the children are already enjoying FCMB secondary school scholarship.
In Port Harcourt, apart from the visitation and gift to Compassionate Children’s Home, staff of the bank also presented gifts to children at a party hosted for children in the state by the State Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amechi.
Handing over the gift items in Lagos, Yemisi Edun, FCMB’s Chief Finance Officer expressed the bank’s commitment towards the education of the orphans and vulnerable children.
“We, at FCMB embrace education. It is a commitment we are giving to the nation that from the money we are making we will support the communities where we operate.” She enjoined the children to avail themselves of the support rendered by FCMB to become responsible citizens of Nigeria irrespective of their backgrounds.
Kemi Sokenu Moris, FCMB’s Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) said the visitations and donations to these children were aimed at celebrating the special place children hold in the lives of Nigerian families and inspire them to become great men and women in their life time.
She explained that volunteers from the bank worked with the CSR team in donating and organizing a food drive for the orphans and vulnerable children in selected branches of the bank in Lagos and Port Harcourt. These items were collated and shared to the orphanages.
“FCMB has been doing its part to break the cycle of poverty through the provision of qualitative child education that will help these orphans and vulnerable children grow, thrive and develop to their full potentials. In addition, we recognize the importance of our staff support and this further underscores the need to continue to involve them as our number-one stakeholders in taking steps to translate our aspiration into reality. With this in mind, we joined efforts from selected FCMB branches in Port Harcourt and Lagos State,” she explained.
Freedom Foundation’s Executive Director, Mylah M Osifo said, “Today is an exciting day for the children at Bethesda. The children may not have other opportunities for a happy children’s day celebration, but FCMB has made this day a special day for them.” She called on other corporate organizations to emulate the FCMB gesture by supporting these orphans and vulnerable children.