Corporate Voices Announces Winners of 2010 Champion Award: Preparing Youth for Work

Corporate Voices, along with the Ready by 21 National Partnership, is proud to announce the winners of the inaugural 2010 Champion Award: Preparing Youth for Work.  The 2010 Champion Award is bestowed to the Individual Leader, Community and Company who displayed exceptional leadership, vision and commitment in creating local private/public partnerships dedicated to ensuring that youth have the structures and supports needed to be ready for work.

The 2010 Winners include:

• Individual Leader: Tom Glenn, Ace Hardware (Tennessee)
• Community: Louisville, Kentucky
• Company: CVS Caremark

A Review Committee comprised of Ready by 21 National Partners and representatives from Corporate Voices' corporate partners reviewed the nominees and chose the winners. 2011 Champion Award nominees will be accepted starting July 1, 2011.

These awards were presented at the first-ever The BigTent Conference in Houston, Texas, on Thursday, November 18, 2010.  This conference is a gathering of professionals and youth from all youth-serving sectors focused on building communities to advance the health and well-being of families and children.  Corporate Voices is helping to bring the business voice and perspective to this conference.  Corporate Voices will highlight its recently released "Business Engagement Toolkit for Community-Based Organizations," and is facilitating a panel with corporate partners including Capitol One, H.E. Butt Grocery, MillerCoors and Target Corporation focused on building business and community partnerships.

Workplace Flexibility: Ensuring Success for the 21^st Century
International Center for Research on Women, Pursuit of Excellence
Become Business Champions
University of Kentucky's Institute for Workplace Innovation
Joins as Outreach Partner

Corporate Voices would like to congratulate the International Center for Research on Women and Pursuit of Excellence, Inc. for joining our national workplace flexibility campaign since the last issue of this Update, and for committing their support for Corporate Voices' Statement of Support for Expanding Workplace Flexibility.

We would also like to congratulate the University of Kentucky's Institute for Workplace Innovation for joining this campaign as an Outreach Partner and committing its support to expanding awareness about the positive business and employee benefits of workplace flexibility.

A growing number of businesses have joined this campaign as "Business Champions" to recognize how flexible workplaces can catalyze business success and success for working families. This topic is especially relevant this November, as we celebrate National Family Caregivers Month.

Recent campaign "Business Champions" include: Accenture, Allstate Insurance Company, AOL, Baxter International, Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Childrens' Creative Learning Centers, Cisco Systems, CVS Caremark, Deloitte LLP, Discovery Communications, Ernst & Young, Knowledge Universe, KPMG, LifeCare, Marriott International, McGladrey^SM, Merck & Co. Inc., Sodexo, and Workplace Options, among others.

Businesses in the campaign enjoy a host of benefits and public recognition.  Corporate Voices is now developing a series of micro success stories to highlight the many ways our "Business Champions" are using flexibility as a strategic management tool for the 21^st century. For "Business Champions" interested in having Corporate Voices develop their micro success story, please fill out and return this Questionnaire to ysiu@corporatevoices.org.

Section 127: Preserving Employee Educational Assistance

As our partners know, much of our work at Corporate Voices focuses on assisting companies that recognize the value of investing in the education and skills of their workforce.  One practical tool for promoting a culture of learning is a federal tax program which helps employers and employees alike.

Under Section 127 of the U.S. tax code, employers are allowed to exclude from an employee's wages up to $5,250 yearly in education assistance they provide to a qualified worker-thus making it more affordable for employees to pursue undergraduate and graduate-level courses.  This small tax provision has helped roughly one million workers a year advance their higher-education goals-while encouraging employers to build a more highly skilled and competitive workforce.

At a time when that goal is arguably more urgent than ever, this tax benefit is set to expire (on December 31, 2010) unless Congress takes action.

Bipartisan legislation to extend Section 127 benefits has been introduced in the House (H.R. 5600) and Senate (S. 2851), but it is competing for Congressional attention in the abbreviated "lame duck" session with numerous other worthy policy priorities.   

Corporate Voices is pleased to be part of The Coalition to Preserve Employer Provided Education Assistance, a network of prominent business, labor, and higher-education organizations, who together are advocating for permanent extension of Section 127 before the 111^th Congress adjourns for the year.

If you would like more information on Section 127, the Coalition's efforts or ways to share your views on this important employer benefit, please contact Dorian Friedman at dfriedman@corporatevoices.org.  Should you wish to contact your elected officials directly, we are also happy to provide sample letters or supporting research you may find helpful.