Altria on The Civic 50 list of companies

Altria was recognized yesterday as one of the U.S.’s most community-minded companies when it was included on The Civic 50, an annual initiative that identifies and recognizes companies for their commitment to improving the quality of life in the communities where they do business.

The survey was conducted by the National Conference on Citizenship and Points of Light, the nation’s definitive experts on civic engagement, and published by Bloomberg News.

“Altria and its family of companies have a long history of contributing to organizations that enrich and improve the communities where our employees live and work,” said Jennifer Hunter, Altria Client Services’ senior vice president, corporate affairs.

“We work to develop strong partnerships with leading nonprofit organizations with proven-effective programs.

“Over the past 10 years, Altria’s companies have donated more than $1.1 billion in cash and in-kind contributions to improve the communities where we operate.

“In addition, our employees give their time, talents and resources to organizations through volunteer service in the community and our Altria Companies Employee Community Fund.

“We are pleased to be recognized for this work and the difference corporations and citizens can make in our communities when we work together.”

Michael Weiser, chairman of the board for the National Conference on Citizenship, and Neil Bush, chairman of the board for Points of Light, said in a joint statement that the results of this year’s Civic 50 survey had shown that even the most civically engaged companies were doing more to make community engagement a top priority and a permanent aspect of their business strategy.

“These 50 companies are showing others in the private sector how to boost the bottom line and make the world a better place.”