(This week, PR News editors Phil Hall and Aaron Jenkins honor the real superheroes of the private sector: CSR-related volunteer program participants.)
PHIL: The new Superman film is coming out later this month, but who needs make-believe heroes when we have real ones all around us? Forget about Superman, Wonder Woman,
Batman or Batgirl - the real superheroes are people who take time to volunteer in their communities. Case in point: on January 23 we wrote about Deloitte teaming with
Junior Achievement to present its Excellence Through Ethics program of educating and encouraging the next generation of financial leadership to consider business
ethics and corporate integrity. In a way, you can call it an IR story since Deloitte's volunteers are making an investment for a better future.
AARON: Simply volunteering at a community event can go a long way. Before my position with this fine publication, I was a reporter for a newspaper and had hosted
middle school spelling bees many a time. Although they were intimate affairs, the bees put me in touch with my readers and allowed them to put a face on their source of news.
And just as important, for my parent company it spelled out C-S-R.
PHIL: From a PR standpoint, such activities offer genuine heroism. Granted, it is not as flashy as stopping Catwoman from wrecking Gotham City. But in the scheme of
things, a corporate-wide CSR volunteer program shows a commitment to improving society's bottom line. Even Batgirl, my favorite superhero, can't top that!
AARON: In the volatile and competitive corporate landscape, the question should not be "Why CSR?" but "How much and, furthermore, where?" The answers: Plenty and in
the community. Whether you're a large or small company, a company with a squeaky-clean image or not-so-much, CSR should rank in the top tier of your PR practice, with a sizeable
volunteerism investment directed toward home base.