Great-West helps people invest for a stronger future. We also recognize the importance of investing in the communities of our employees, clients and partners. We have a deep history of giving back to our community through local sponsorships, corporate donations and our employee matching program. In 2011, Great-West and its employees contributed $1.2 million to local and national organizations. We continue to advance our community partnerships to ensure we are using our resources to produce the greatest impact.
As a leader in the financial services industry, we have seen firsthand the need for improved financial literacy. To that end, we created the Great-West Great-Teachers® personal financial literacy initiative. This signature program prepares and financially assists school educators with bringing financial education programs into Colorado's preschool through 12 classrooms.
In addition to our signature financial literacy initiative and corporate sponsorships, we look to our employees to choose the community causes they value most. Our Volunteer Group is a team of employee advocates who represent their coworkers, plan employee volunteer opportunities and encourage participation. Our company sponsored volunteer program allows full-time employees to volunteer during regular work hours at non-profit organizations for up to 8 hours per calendar year. We match all employees' eligible financial donations, fund-raising efforts and time. Ultimately, we aspire to match their generosity and dedication.
Additionally, we strive to lessen our impact on the environment through ongoing water and energy saving programs at our headquarters. We also provide campus wide and desk side recycling and compost collection.