Regions Financial Corporation on Friday announced the release of the company’s annual Social Responsibility Report.

A Hayes K-8 School student receives after-school academic help from a Center for a New Generation in ...

A Hayes K-8 School student receives after-school academic help from a Center for a New Generation instructor. The CNG program is among the outreaches highlighted in Regions' Social Responsibility Report. (Photo: Business Wire)

The report, titled “Doing More,” illustrates how Regions carried out its commitment to serving communities and customers throughout 2014. Beyond providing everyday banking services, Regions actively seeks and supports programs and organizations that share Regions’ goal of making life better in the communities we call home. “Doing More” highlights several examples of initiatives supported by Regions in order to make a positive impact.

“Regions associates have a passion for making a difference in the lives of those we serve,” said Regions Financial Corporation Chairman, President and CEO Grayson Hall. “One of our core operating values is to ‘Reach Higher,’ and our commitment to do more and reach more people reflects that value. We’re committed to finding projects that involve job creation, economic development, promotion of diversity, financial education, safe and affordable housing, and a host of other initiatives. For us, it’s about using our time, our talent and our resources to actively help make a real difference.”

Examples of Regions “Doing More,” highlighted in the report, include:

  • Doing More to Provide Affordable Housing:

“This is home, but it’s more than a home to me,” explained Rinal Martin. “It’s security.”

Martin is a longtime teacher and Job Corps supervisor. Six years ago, he was disabled by a heart attack and stroke that left him without a salary. Living on a modest disability allocation, Martin had few options for safe, affordable housing.

That changed when he found The Delamore in New Orleans.

Serving low-income tenants with positive background checks, The Delamore was designed to help meet an overwhelming need for affordable housing in the Crescent City. The Gulf Coast Housing Partnership (GCHP) turned to Regions to help fund The Delamore – as well as Esplanade Avenue, another affordable housing option under development.

“These people are rebuilding their lives, and they just need a place to live that’s safe,” said Mike Scott, Regional Community Affairs manager for Regions Bank in New Orleans. Scott and his team worked with the GCHP to identify financing solutions that are helping people like Martin find a comfortable, secure place to live.

“When you do a deal like this and know what it means for the community, when you drive by and see people who made it home, it makes you feel that you’ve accomplished something,” Scott said.

VIDEO: How Regions is Doing More in New Orleans

  • Doing More for Small Businesses:

“People told me, ‘You could go somewhere else and be a lot more successful,’” recalled Andre Williams during a conversation at his diner, You Gotta Eat Here, in inner-city St. Louis. “But I live in this neighborhood, I work in this neighborhood, and my kids go to the public schools here. Right across the street is the Boys & Girls Club, which I’ve been helping for 30 years. I don’t want to go anywhere else.’”

With services from Justine PETERSEN, supported by Regions Bank, Williams is planning to stay right where he is. Justine PETERSEN is a community organization named after a trailblazer who helped low- to moderate-income families achieve homeownership. Today, Justine PETERSEN also works with small business owners to help them with micro-lending so they can access capital they need to grow and succeed.

“The people coming to us often aren’t served by institutional banks,” explained Rob Boyle, Justine PETERSEN’s president and CEO. “They need help with building their credit. As any one business thrives, it creates a new spirit for more entrepreneurs.”

Now, Justine PETERSEN is working with Regions to provide even more capital so even more businesses can reach their potential. Beyond providing business capital, Regions Midwest Area President Mike Hart said Regions associates are able to use their expertise to help business owners, individuals, and families identify and reach their financial goals.

“There are some areas we know best, including financial education, understanding credit, teaching savings and borrowing smart, that align perfectly with Justine PETERSEN’s priorities and can create positive, uplifting change,” Hart said.

Regions associates are consistently seeking additional avenues through which they can share financial education and expertise. Further, Regions is working with schools in North St. Louis County to help students and families with college preparatory and career placement opportunities. The company is also working with housing and economic developers to identify ways to spur additional economic recovery in the North County area.

VIDEO: How Regions is Doing More in St. Louis

  • Doing More for the Next Generation:

It is almost 6:00 p.m. School dismissed hours ago. But in a computer lab at Hayes K-8 School in Birmingham, dozens of students’ eyes light up as they use interactive software designed to strengthen their math skills.

Down the hall, others are receiving one-on-one instructional support as they complete homework assignments.

Around the corner, curious children play their first few musical notes on a variety of instruments, quickly gaining confidence as instructors encourage them to discover their talents.

Scenes like this can be found every day at the Center for a New Generation (CNG), which was brought to Hayes in 2014.

The CNG program was co-founded by Dr. Condoleezza Rice in California. It is more than an after-school program. CNG offers academic and arts enrichment designed to supplement what students learn during the school day and encourage a lifelong passion for learning.

Leaders of the A.G. Gaston Boys & Girls Club saw how CNG was helping students in other cities. They saw a need for the concept in Birmingham. So they turned to Regions, Birmingham City Schools, and others, to make their vision a reality.

“Many young people in our communities don’t have the enrichment opportunities that are often available elsewhere,” said Frank Adams, president and CEO of the A.G. Gaston Boys & Girls Club. “Working with Regions, which has been a wonderful partner with A.G. Gaston for years, we are bridging the gap and providing academic and artistic enrichment opportunities that our participants wouldn’t be able to access otherwise.”

VIDEO: How Regions is Doing More in Birmingham

The above summaries reflect only a portion of Regions’ efforts in 2014. The “Doing More” report details several other initiatives, such as Regions helping connect inner-city business owners with no-cost executive education to help them strengthen their companies. Readers can also see how Regions is supporting a student-run high school farm that provides food for nearby families living in hunger. Further, in 2014, Regions supported more than 8,000 organizations across more than a dozen states served by Regions through grants, donations, charitable contributions, volunteer time and sponsorships. Regions associates also participated in the company’s “Share the Good” program, which organized or supported a wide range of services ranging from random acts of kindness to food drives and financial education classes.

The complete “Doing More” 2014 Social Responsibility Report is available on the Regions Financial web site at www.regions.com/socialresponsibility.

About Regions Financial Corporation

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF), with $122 billion in assets, is a member of the S&P 500 Index and is one of the nation’s largest full-service providers of consumer and commercial banking, wealth management, mortgage, and insurance products and services. Regions serves customers in 16 states across the South, Midwest and Texas, and through its subsidiary, Regions Bank, operates approximately 1,650 banking offices and 2,000 ATMs. Additional information about Regions and its full line of products and services can be found at www.regions.com.