Employees to give time, $100,000 to area nonprofits

For the first time in its 10-year history, employees at Springfield’s Bank One customer service call center are participating in JPMorgan Chase’s Global Days of Service, which encourages employee volunteerism and community involvement during October.

“Being part of the JPMorgan Chase family, we now have this opportunity,” said Patricia Vitello, Bank One/JPMorgan Chase Springfield Center manager.

Springfield employees are jumping at the chance.

Vitello said more than 500 of Springfield’s 1,300 employees have volunteered – a 40 percent participation rate. Compared to the 20 percent participation average at Bank One/JPMorgan Chase facilities nationwide, Springfield’s involvement is head and shoulders above the rest, Vitello said.

“From what I’ve seen, this is unprecedented,” she said. “This is significant for the organization for a first year. We are leading the pack. We have the most projects given our employee population, and we have the highest level of employee participation.”

The volunteer services, offered on employees’ days off, will complete more than 100 projects – valued at more than $100,000 – for area community groups. Employees have signed up for about 2,000 volunteer hours in October, Vitello said.

Local projects include:

• Painting rooms at the Missouri Hotel with $1,000 to help purchase paint;

• Taking 30 boys from Big Brothers on a fishing trip to Lake Taneycomo;

• Clerical work at American Red Cross;

• Clearing the baseball field at Boys and Girls Club;

• Packaging food at Convoy of Hope with grants to help purchase food;

• Rebuilding kennels at area Humane societies;

• Read-a-thons and mentoring at Clever Elementary, Field, St. Joseph and other area schools;

• Helping with special education classes at Glendale High School;

• Working at a book fair at Weaver School; and

• Ushering at Springfield Little Theatre.

Other projects will be completed in Forsyth, Nixa, Ozark, Buffalo, Clever, Branson, Marshfield and Ash Grove.

“We’re able to impact about 56,000 people in our community with 500 employees and give back $100,000 that we would not be able to do if we were not part of this new organization,” Vitello said. “We were overwhelmed by the amount of support from our employees.”

Other Bank One/JPMorgan Chase sister sites with comparable employment – including centers in Orlando, Fla., and Elgin, Ill., – have between 15 and 20 projects, Vitello said.

Globally, more than 1,300 projects will be completed this month in 300 cities. JPMorgan Chase began Global Days of Service in 1995 with 3,000 volunteers working on 200 projects.

Merger effects

While the July 1 merger between Bank One Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. created the country’s second largest banking company with $1.1 trillion in assets and locations in 50 countries, local operations are unchanged.

Vitello said Springfield’s call center continues to offer customer service to credit card holders as well as retail bankers. And while employment levels have remained at about 1,300, that could change within the next two years. Beginning with new signage outside the facility next summer, the Bank One call center will gradually reflect JPMorgan Chase’s affiliation – and that could mean new hires, Vitello said.

“As a result of the merger, we’re anticipating additional growth here in the Springfield operations center,” she said. “We don’t have any confirmed numbers yet, but just understanding how our new organization will function in 2005 and 2006, I am optimistic that we will have continued growth as we have had in the past.”

The last significant change in employment was two years ago when Bank One’s retail banking business moved here from Chicago.