If you were asked to picture an investment firm vice president, you probably wouldn’t imagine someone in a youth center working with children. But at Western & Southern Financial Group, that image is routine as part of their work giving back to Cincinnati.
Western & Southern has provided funds, volunteers and workshops for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati for many years. Currently, Dan Gibson of Fort Washington Investment Advisors sits on their board as chair of the investment committee.
Building into the community and volunteering is nothing new for Western & Southern, which brings Cincinnati elaboratefireworks displays and a globally recognized tennis tournament year after year. Team members at all levels are encouraged to sit on boards of local nonprofits and volunteer in fundraisers.
In 2021, two of Western & Southern’s Cincinnati subsidiaries, Touchstone Investments and Fort Washington Investment Advisors, joined a nationwide initiative called The Equity Collective.
The Equity Collective aims to empower a diverse group of next-generation leaders by creating awareness, demystifying financial services career opportunities and breaking down perceived barriers.
One of these opportunities is to provide skill-building sessions at the Clem and Ann Buenger branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati.
“The resume and interview workshops were very exciting for our teens,” says Jake McGinty, Boys & Girls Clubs volunteer and community outreach coordinator. “The sessions really energized them to start thinking about what their first job might be and how their life experiences can be beneficial when applying for jobs.”
To prepare the young adults to join the workforce, volunteers role-play as mock interviewers, and Club members are the interviewees.
“I remember going through one mock interview, and we would stop along the way and talk about the key learnings and skills that were being introduced as a group,” says Chris Zehetmaier, vice president of marketing at Fort Washington. “At one point, the interviewee noted that the group was asking me a lot of questions. When I asked him why, he replied, ‘I think it’s because this is a place we feel safe.’
“The open-door policy of the Boys & Girls Club to help protect, educate, feed and care for kids is inspiring, and the excellence with which they pursue that mission makes the organization truly remarkable.”
And the eagerness to learn doesn’t stop when the workshops end.
“After one of the mock interview workshops was over and the Western & Southern volunteers left, one of our teens asked a Club staff member to continue asking practice interview questions,” McGinty says. “She was very excited to practice interviewing because she wants to start working as soon as she is 16 to start saving for college.”
Volunteering with children is personally and professionally important for Beth Chavies, director of marketing at Touchstone Investments.
“I’ve been a recipient of services provided by several Cincinnati organizations,” Chavies says. “I was a Girl Scout, I learned how to swim at the local YWCA, and I was adopted through the Children’s Home of Cincinnati. I look to the next generation, and the least I can do is volunteer some of my time to help them be as well-positioned as possible to contribute meaningfully to the future of our city, state and country. This is my small way of paying it forward.”
Chavies recently organized and held a resume writing workshop at the Boys & Girls Club in Newport, Kentucky.
“It was such an unexpected breath of fresh air,” Chavies says. “The children were so inspired! After the workshop was over, the Club members continued the conversation, discussing their hopes and ideas for careers after school with one another and supporting one another by giving constructive feedback about their peers’ participation during the workshop.”
In addition to providing valuable content and expertise at the Boys & Girls Club, having Fort Washington and Touchstone team members present is a win for the kids.
“Providing youth with positive adult role models is far and away the greatest benefit in partnering with The Equity Collective volunteers,” says McGinty. “The kids have incredible skills, and these positive mentors help unlock and enable those skills so our youth can grow into their full potential.”
Are you interested in more information about the good things Western & Southern is doing? Visit westernsouthern.com/cincinnati.