Fidelity Investments and UNH Announce First Community Service Awards

Contact: Lori Wright
603-862-0574
UNH Media Relations

May 6, 2004



DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of New Hampshire's Whittemore School of Business and Economics and Fidelity Investments' Merrimack Region will award the first Community Service Awards to recognize outstanding student volunteer activities.

The awards will be presented Wednesday, May 12, 2004, at 1 p.m. in the reading room of McConnell Hall.

Four awards will be presented to students enrolled in the Whittemore School's Introduction to Business course taught by Ross Gittell, James R. Carter Professor of Management. The students are required to do eight hours of community service as part of learning about corporate social responsibility, and the awards – a $1,000 grant – will go to the nonprofit organization or agency where they complete their volunteer work.

On average the students in the class donate more than 5,000 hours of service a year.

“Community service is a critical part of the academic mission of the university because it instills an appreciation and dedication to civic responsibility and citizenship. These students, through their volunteer efforts, are an example of the importance of students engaging the community to extend their knowledge beyond the university,” UNH President Ann Weaver Hart said.

Fidelity committed $10,000 to support the programs for the first year. Each semester, $1,000 grants will be awarded in four categories. The awards will recognize student volunteer projects that promote literacy and/or help strengthen reading skills for a variety of age groups and populations; promote personal financial education and further understanding of personal finance concepts; and help a nonprofit organization use technology to initiate changes in its operations to expand or improve service. The fourth award will recognize the project that provides the greatest benefit to families and individual residents of the town of Durham.

"Fidelity is pleased to partner with the Whittemore School on this exciting new project," said Tom O'Rourke, director of public affairs for Fidelity's Merrimack, New Hampshire region. "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 as they enter the workforce."

Fidelity Investments is one of the world's largest providers of financial services, with custodied assets of $1.9 trillion, including managed assets of $1,021.3 billion as of March 31, 2004. Fidelity offers investment management, retirement planning, brokerage, human resource sand benefits outsourcing services to 18 million individuals and institutions as well as through 5,500 financial intermediaries. The firm is the largest mutual fund company in the United States, the No. 1 provider of workplace retirement savings plans, one of the largest mutual fund supermarkets and a leading online brokerage firm. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit www.fidelity.com.