Equifax has made it to the final round of the St. Louis Regional Chamber’s inaugural Arcus Awards, which celebrates the achievement of companies and leaders who are inspiring a greater St. Louis. The Scholarship Foundation nominated Equifax for the Ameren Corporate Citizenship Award—which recognizes a company that has demonstrated exceptional commitment to enhancing the quality of life in St. Louis—due to Equifax’s commitment to higher education and workforce development, neighborhood revitalization, and adding value and prosperity to the greater St. Louis region through all its endeavors.
The Scholarship Foundation’s partnership with Equifax is opening doors to success for students to attend college, share knowledge, improve skills and their community, and gain valuable work experience that will help them enter the professional world more easily. Under the leadership of Community Affairs Manager David Stiffler, Equifax has supported the Foundation in a variety of creative and meaningful ways, including:
- Envisioning and underwriting the Foundation’s Community Internship Program, which has placed 11 loan recipients in nonprofit agencies working in Old North St. Louis as paid interns.
- Offering corporate internship openings within Equifax to Foundation students; to date, seven individuals have been placed in paid internships in the company.
- Having groups of Equifax employees repeatedly volunteer in ScholarShop. Nearly 70 Equifax volunteers have donated 300 hours sorting and ticketing merchandise.
- Holding clothing drives to donate merchandise to ScholarShop and employee fundraising events to support the Community Internship Program.
- Having 35 Equifax employees serve as volunteer mentors for first-time freshmen, providing encouragement, support, advice, and guidance to students as they begin their collegiate journey.
- Funding a scholarship administered by the Foundation to support one College Summit Peer Leader through four years of college.
- Creatively supporting St. Louis Graduates, a collaboration the Foundation co-founded, by holding fundraising events to support the High School to College Center during summer 2013.
The company also takes on a variety of other community activities, including an annual United Way campaign, matching gifts, and disaster relief efforts.
Other finalists for this award include Bryan Cave LLP; Centene Corporation; Commerce Bank; Maritz; Nestlé Purina Petcare Company; Novus International Inc.; and U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation. The winner of the Ameren Corporate Citizenship Award, as well as the other Arcus Awards, will be announced Tuesday, November 26 at the awards ceremony.
