In the deserts of Iraq, not surprisingly, financial advisers can be hard to come by. But Jason Bierman, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant and a wholesaler for The Hartford’s investment and life insurance products, happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Deployed to a base with 25,000 troops just north of Baghdad, Bierman spent his working hours completing extensive military duties. But after attending an Army-sponsored financial planning seminar for his fellow soldiers, he realized he had knowledge to share. Having brought his personal laptop computer from home, Bierman volunteered to spend his personal time coaching his comrades on financial literacy.
“It was no different,” he said, “than what I do on a day-to-day basis.” During his yearlong tour of duty, he taught more than 1,000 men and women about checking and savings accounts, mutual funds, Roth IRAs, and more. From giving older soldiers retirement advice to empowering single mothers to realize their goal of sending their kids to college, Bierman “wanted to educate them on every investment available to them.”
Bierman’s volunteerism reflects The Hartford’s many programs that extend our business expertise to our communities. Our major philanthropic initiatives include the Playbook for Life, a financial literacy curriculum that reached 60,000 college students last year; our founding sponsorship of the U.S. Paralympics, which demonstrates our commitment to helping claimants maintain active, productive lives if they become disabled; and our partnership with the MIT AgeLab, enabling research that helps us better understand the needs of older Americans.
In 2006, in addition to the support of our many employee volunteers, The Hartford contributed millions to more than 40 employee communities worldwide. More information on our corporate social responsibility can be found at www.thehartford.com.