This year’s edition aims to reinforce the bank’s positive outcomes of sowing seeds of kindness by empowering the lives of communities, and minimizing the environmental impact environment, while advancing the Bank’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The CR&S Week is a dedicated week that offers opportunities for employees of the FirstBank Group (FirstBank Nigeria, FirstBank UK, FirstBank Gambia, FirstBank Sierra-Leone, FirstBank DRC, FirstBank Guinea, FirstBank Ghana, FBNBank Senegal; First Pension and First Nominees) to give their time & resources to defined causes in line with the Bank’s CR&S strategic approach.

Now in its eighth year, the FirstBank Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Week is a week reserved by the Bank for the demonstration of kindness being a fundamental philosophy of the Bank, as the Bank and its employees “Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness” (SPARK) the value-based initiative in alignment with the ethos of compassion, civility, and charity.

During the 2023 CR&S Week, 8 countries participated with over 80 charities/NGOs and 30,000 lives impacted.

The 2024 CR&S is envisioned to be an eventful week of impact, sowing the seed of kindness through the following initiatives/activities:

Tree Planting– FirstBank will plant 30,000 trees across Nigeria, furthering its commitment to plant 50,000 trees by 2025 in partnership with the Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF).

Women Empowerment – The bank will support Jigawa and Plateau States by driving awareness, performing surgeries, and providing post-care kits for those living with Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF).

Visitation for Charity – FirstBank will visit orphanage homes, IDP camps, and other charities across Nigeria, SSA markets, and the UK, demonstrating kindness and empowering those at the bottom of the pyramid.

Kind Comment – Staff and management will share kind comments throughout the week, promoting a culture of compassion and civility across the bank.

Woven into the fabric of the society since over 130 years and enabling success in our customers and communities, these initiatives epitomize FirstBank’s care for the environment and humanity, aligning with the Bank’s sustainability strategic pillars and support for the Green Recovery Nigeria.

Folake Ani-Mumuney, group head, marketing & corporate communications FirstBank, said;

“At FirstBank, we remain committed to creating a positive impact in the lives of our customers and the communities we serve. Our 2024 CR&S Week is a testament to this dedication, and we are excited to amplify our efforts in enabling the Giants in the lives of our communities and enhance sustainable development and community growth.”

“As we celebrate the FirstBank’s Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability week, we invite all to embrace the spirit of kindness as we come together this special occasion to weave kindness into the fabric of our daily lives, leaving a lasting impact on one another,” she concluded.

The event which is themed: “Kindness…. A Way of Life” reflects the single-minded purpose to make a difference in the world by inspiring and institutionalizing kindness. SPARK is an acronym for Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness and it is a values-based initiative designed to raise consciousness that we can choose to be kind.

The FirstBank CR&S Week is a dedicated week designed to offer opportunities for employees to give their time & resources to defined causes in line with the Bank’s CR&S strategic approach. The CR&S Week will offer employees opportunities to give their time & resources to defined causes.

The Week’s activities are an aspect of the Bank’s Employee Giving & Volunteering Program, which was instituted to encourage employees to give back to the community as well as inculcate in them the integral corporate culture of giving.

The Bank held the maiden edition of the CR&S week in 2017 with a focus mainly on three key initiatives/activities which were giving and visits to orphanages/less privileged homes/IDPs; career counseling day; and Staff Promoting Acts of Random Kindness (SPARK) initiative – which is now Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness.

The CRS week has become more successful in subsequent years and it is fast becoming a household name in the Bank’s host economies.

There are five main activities to be implemented during this year’s CR&S Week in Nigeria, FBNBank UK, and across the SSA markets. These activities include SPARK APP, Kind Comments Day, Visits to orphanages/less privileged homes, SPARK School Engagement, and Women Economic Empowerment.

The major highlight of the Week will be the launch of the SPARK APP. The app is strategic in the Bank’s journey to institutionalize “A Day of Kindness” on a national level, and globally position the Bank as a Corporate Citizen in leveraging new media to drive sustainability practices.

The SPARK App is a sensational application designed to have individuals abreast with the act of kindness through various kindness-based quotes and inspirational phrases that will be displayed on one’s phone screen, especially when the phone is idle.

Kind Comments Day is an initiative that focuses on inspiring and encouraging everyone to be deliberate with the use of kind words in relating or interacting with anyone.

In addition, with Women Empowerment, the Bank will support, VVF patients in need of surgical operations and also empower them with vocational skills as they integrate back into society.

The SPARK Schools Engagement will be implemented through the National Competition of JAN SPARK School Integration. The activity is aimed at rewarding the various participating students, following their SPARK activity, Through the partnership with JAN, SPARK is integrated into the JAN Company Program, where students are taught the values of SPARK.

The SPARK schools’ competition has been tied with the Company program regional, competition, ensuring they imbibed the values taught during the training. One of the highlights of the event is the visit to orphanage homes and the less privileged, across various cities which will be carried out by volunteers from the Bank.

Speaking during the week, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, FirstBank said “The CR&S Week is another opportunity to strengthen our commitment and extend our reach beyond the communities where we operate in Nigeria and across our subsidiaries.

“Over time, our goal has stayed the same, to create platforms through which our positive impact is felt.

“For us in the FirstBank Group, beyond saying that we care, we take a step further and show it,” he concluded.