A Plan for the World's Underprivileged Children

One of the largest and oldest children's development organizations in the world, Plan promotes children's rights and helps millions of kids get out of poverty. The non-profit works in 50 developing nations across Asia, Africa, and the Americas, aiming to improve the quality of life of disadvantaged children. In 2013, Plan reached 78 million kids in over 90,200 communities.

Plan is a child-centered community development organization that not only works with children but also with their families, communities, organizations, and local governments. Plan believes that its programs are more like to succeed and be sustainable when children and adults work together as part of the change process. The organization's approach includes listening to what kids have to say about their rights and concerns and giving them the encouragement and assistance they need to actively find solutions to their problems and realize their full potential.

Plan's work, which is connected to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, focuses on eight core areas: education, health, economic security, protection, water and sanitation, child participation, sexual health, and emergencies.

Plan was founded in 1937 by journalist John Langdon-Davies and refugee worker Eric Muggeridge as Foster Parents Plan for Children in Spain. The organization's original goal was to provide food, accommodation, and education to kids whose lives had been affected by the Spanish Civil War. During World War II, Plan helped displaced children from all over Europe. It gradually moved out of European nations as they recovered and subsequently launched new programs in less developed countries.

Plan has offices in 21 countries around the world, including the UK (international headquarters), Australia, Hong Kong, Italy, Norway, Colombia, South Korea, Spain, and Finland. The Plan team is currently led by CEO Nigel Chapman, who previously served as the director of BBC World Service.

BB&T Bank Shares Fortune to Charity

BB&T is a leader in the financial services industry that prides itself for its stature and longevity. The company has continued to build a tradition of excellence in community banking since 1872, and it remains to be one of the oldest and most trusted institutions in the industry. For over a century, BB&T has provided lending, insurance, trust, and wealth management solutions to its loyal clients.

Aside from providing these financial services, BB&T is also known for its contributions to  the community. The company considers corporate social responsibility as one of its priorities – for BB&T, this is a way of returning what society has given to them.

One of  BB&T's programs in community development is the Capacity Building Training Program. The program facilitates improvement in the local community by allowing participants to form new partnerships and generate ideas for community involvement. Participants are also taught how to identify needs related to affordable housing and economic development. Planning, however, is just the first step. To execute their plan, the participants are grouped into subcommittees to develop feasible strategies to accomplish the specific goals and objectives. BB&T is with them every step of the way to assure that the community development plan will be implemented.

The company also offers community lending to support the credit-needs of the communities they serve. Last year, their Community Development lending reached $701.3 million – a big increase from 2009’s $584.7 million. To raise such large sums, BB&T has aligned with McDonald's to raise money for charity. The company has had several partners from various industries in order to fulfill a common goal.

BB&T also reaches out to the Hispanic community, the largest minority group in the country. They are committed to partnering with key Hispanic organizations to welcome them and provide needs to their growing community.

With all these concrete contributions to society, BB&T Bank takes the lead in corporate responsibility.