SavING, TakING, BankING & GivING

Here's the final part of my interview with Kate Fitzgibbon from corporate relations at ING DIRECT:
How much time are employees given to volunteer for this activity?

For the Orange Days of Giving, ING DIRECT employees at three office sites – St. Cloud; Los Angeles; and Wilmington – spent nearly 12 hours at their respective volunteer locations, painting and assembling desks/chairs at elementary schools; building tent platforms and a ropes course at a Girl Scouts camp; and taking part in other physical activities.
At the camp in Maryland, where 750 of the 1,200 employees volunteered, the following     was completed: 34 tent platforms were constructed; 15 buildings were pained/stained; 14 low ropes elements were built; 2 truck-loads of mulch were moved; 700 gallons of paint/stain were used; 350 paint brushes were used; and 45 picnic tables and benches were built/stained.
That's phenomenal! How long has the program been in place?
This is the first year that ING DIRECT has replaced its corporate conference with Orange Days of Giving. Due to the positive feedback from participants, we are expecting to make the Days of Giving an annual event.
How do your customers respond to the company’s efforts to give back to the community?
ING DIRECT customers are proud of the work the bank does in the community. From Habitat to Humanity projects in Delaware and Minnesota, to play-ground builds in New York City, St. Cloud Minnesota, and the Gulf Coast, customers know that ING DIRECT is not afraid to "get its hands dirty" to help improve the communities where customers work and live.  In June, hundreds of customers came out in support of the Independence Ride, a charity motorcycle ride from Philadelphia to Wilmington, Delaware, which raised $175,000 for the ING DIRECT Kids Foundation and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.