Community

Being a Trusted Neighbor to Those in Need

We depend on the communities where we operate, just as they depend on us. MassMutual offers funding and expertise to lift others up.

Creating Brighter Futures, Together

Click here to learn more about MassMutual’s work in the Frayser neighborhood.

The Frayser neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee, sprang up around the railroad in the 1800s.

The community thrived for generations, until the 1980s when plants closed and businesses stopped investing. Today, Frayser is one of the most economically disadvantaged communities in America. Frayser is also considered a financial desert, meaning that instead of traditional financial services, citizens typically have access only to alternative financial services like payday lenders, which often serve only to deepen poverty.

Frayser is just one place, but it represents a disparity that is present and growing in our society. It’s one of two communities where we’ve launched the Live Mutual Project, a convening of national and local partners, including residents, to work toward a shared vision of prosperity. The other community is the North End neighborhood of Springfield, Massachusetts, home of MassMutual.

Too many people have been left behind for far too long. We’re committed to helping create brighter futures for all, no matter where they live.

2018 Community Initiatives

Pedaling for Prevention

HIV/AIDS affects our policyowners, employees, and communities. That’s why MassMutual, in coordination with our 450-member strong Pride Business Resource Group, Community Responsibility, and employee volunteers joined together to promote education and prevention about the disease. For the second year in a row, we sponsored Cycle for the Cause, a three-day, 275-mile bike ride from Boston to New York City. Our six-rider team trained for a year to prepare for the ride. Through combined sponsorships, corporate donations, and team fundraising, MassMutual raised more than $43,000 for the cause, contributing to a total of $2.1 million raised through the event.

This year, we worked to integrate our involvement with Cycle for the Cause with our Live Mutual mission, featuring our riders and volunteers on TV, social media, and a website to bring greater awareness and support to this cause and the people who are impacted by it. We will continue to partner with organizations like Cycle for the Cause to serve our community and make a difference in the lives of others.

Running on Partnership

MassMutual is a sponsor of the Achilles Foundation, which empowers people with disabilities to participate in mainstream running events. We are involved with the Foundation’s Achilles Freedom Team, a program specifically adapted for the needs of wounded veterans. The program offers specialized training, support, and guidance for all their athletes.

One athlete whose life was transformed by Achilles is Rob Sanchas, a Gulf War veteran who lost his eyesight in 2008 in an accident during military training. He avoided exercise for years, until he learned about Achilles and the possibility of running races while accompanied by a guide. Sanchas worked his way up from guided walks to full marathons in cities nationwide. He’s worked hard, but gives the credit to his guides. “A runner who is not visually impaired can just pick their way through the crowd. But a guide has to think for themselves and talk me through any obstacles to navigate. They spend hundreds of hours volunteering and they do all this extra work for nothing more than a thank you, just because they love to run. They are my heroes.”

Click here to learn more about Rob Sanchas and Achilles International.

Giving Back Through Pro Bono Service

Hampden County, where MassMutual was founded, is the most populous county in Western Massachusetts. It also has one of the state’s highest rates of poverty. The need for legal assistance exceeds its availability: more than two-thirds of residents do not get the legal help they need.

To help expand access to justice in our hometown community, MassMutual’s Law Department began its pro bono program in 2007. Through the program, which originated through a partnership with the Hampden County Bar Association’s (HCBA) Legal Clinic, MassMutual attorneys team with other local volunteer attorneys and lay advocates serve in the Western Division Housing Court as “Lawyers for the Day.” There , they assist underserved tenants and landlords wrestling with eviction matters and other housing issues. The program has expanded to include other partners, such as Community Legal Aid, and today helps countless people advocate for improved living conditions and housing security. In 2018, MassMutual was honored with the national Pro Bono Partner Award from Corporate Pro Bono for our partnership with HCBA and work on these issues.

The pro bono program has grown to offer other services, including Know Your Rights presentations in partnership with the Political Asylum and Immigration Representation Project. Most recently, we launched the Veterans Discharge Upgrade Project in partnership with the Harvard Legal Clinic. This program assists veterans who have been given less than honorable discharges and helps them appeal for an upgrade in their discharge, allowing them to access health care and other benefits.

Our employees’ enthusiasm for giving back through these programs remains high: in 2018 nearly 84 percent of the attorneys in MassMutual’s Corporate Law Department, along with over 50 percent of its administrative and paralegal staff, participated in pro bono services. Together, they donated over 1,600 hours of service.