Unum, staff give $2.6 million to charities

photo The Unum headquarters in downtown Chattanooga.

Unum and its employees contributed nearly $2.6 million in 2011 to nonprofit organizations in Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia.

The local gifts were part of $12 million in global charitable support by people at the world's biggest disability insurance company.

Unum continued its four-year partnership with the Hamilton County Department of Education last year through grants to support mentorship programs, improve achievement levels and increase the use of technology in classrooms. In addition to classroom grants, the company supported the Principal Leadership Academy launched in 2010 to prepare aspiring school principals with leadership training and business mentorship from Unum executives.

The company also gave money and employee time to Big Brother Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Club, Girls Inc. and Urban League.

"Unum has a long and proud tradition of giving back to the communities where we work and live," Joe Foley, chief marketing officer, said in a statement Wednesday. "It's very rewarding to see that our employees are so dedicated to our tradition of community support."

Across the entire company, Unum gave more than $7.2 million in donations and $520,000 in in-kind contributions. Unum employees donated more than $2.7 million in cash and $2 million in volunteer time to nonprofit organizations.

The United Way was the biggest beneficiary of Unum's corporate giving in 2011.

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