Community Service 2009 Company of the Week

May 10, 2009

Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation

Cat Financial Employee Bowlers at JA Bowl-a-Thon

Cat Financial Supports Education through Junior Achievement Bowl-a-Thon
For the past several years, Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation (CFSC) has participated in the Music City Junior Achievement (JA) Bowl-a-Thon. This year’s theme was “Bowling on the High Seas.” Because CFSC had over 55 teams, or 280 employee bowlers, JA reserved a local Nashville, Tenn. bowling alley on two afternoons in April, where employees “broke out their bowling shoes” for a great cause – educating children. Even employees who are not the world’s greatest bowlers put their competitive edge to the side to enjoy a great time at the lanes with co-workers and friends.

The Junior Achievement Bowl-a-Thon is one of JA’s largest annual fund-raisers. The Bowl-a-Thon consists of bowlers from local companies getting pledges and bowling for a two-hour period to raise money for JA programs. The dollars generated by this event help provide in-school education programs for students in grades K-12 throughout Middle Tennessee. Since Bowl-a-Thons are a major source of fundraising for Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee, joining a team means playing a crucial role in helping kids learn about the importance of staying in school and how business works.

Over the past couple years, Cat Financial has raised over $70,000 to benefit the JA Bowl-a-Thon. In a tough economic climate, CFSC rallied to raise $55,100 to support JA programming in 2009. In order to raise money for the event, employees solicited coworkers, family members and friends through online fundraising Web sites and fundraisers at the company headquarters. Many employees were creative with their fundraising ideas with Wii bowling tournaments, silent auctions, bake sales and car washes, to name a few. CFSC JA Bowl-a-Thon Coordinator Lorilyn Meyer said, “Our employees once again did a fantastic job representing Cat Financial in the JA Bowl-a-Thon. We had a fun filled afternoon of bowling with great costumes and lots of laughs. I am so proud of the money we raised for this important cause during a difficult economic year.”

Since 1957, Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee has worked to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. CFSC’s support of the Bowl-a-Thon will allow JA to impact over 45,000 students in Middle Tennessee during the 2008-2009 school year. Through companies liked Cat Financial, JA will teach kindergartners about earning and saving money, third graders about jobs, fifth graders about operating their own town, middle school students about the importance of education to workplace success, and high school students about how to run their own company. JA programs inspire young people to value the opportunities that life holds for them, preparing youth for success in today’s global economy.

Congratulations Cat Financial! 

For more information on Community Service 2009, please visit www.financialcommunityservice.org.

Click Here to view a list of our past Companies of the Week.