Fidelity and UNH announce community service awards program

By Erika Mantz, Media Relations

The UNH’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics and Fidelity Investments’ Merrimack Region recently announced the establishment of a Community Service Awards program to recognize outstanding student volunteer activities.

Students enrolled in the Whittemore School’s Introduction to Business course taught by Ross Gittell, James R. Carter Professor of Management, are required to do eight hours of community service as part of learning about corporate social responsibility. They will be eligible to win a $1,000 grant for the nonprofit organization or agency where they complete their volunteer work.

“Fidelity is pleased to partner with the Whittemore School on this exciting new project,” said Dale Gilpin, vice president and general manager for Fidelity’s New Hampshire operations. “Civic responsibility is one of our core values at Fidelity. The earlier we can expose business students to volunteerism and community involvement, the more likely they will be to engage in community service throughout their college careers and beyond.”

Fidelity committed $10,000 to support the program for the first year. “Part of corporate social responsibility is to be concerned about the larger community you’re a part of, so when Fidelity heard about the community service component they wanted to support it,” Gittell says.