At the height of the economic crisis, one financial CEO decided he was fed up with the bad reputation that banks were getting.

So he began the BB&T Lighthouse Project, a company-wide effort to give back to communities where the bank does business. The bank allocates money to individual branches for approved projects in the community, ranging from refurbishing homeless shelters and stocking food pantries to working with local charities and preparing care packages for troops.

This year, local branches decided to clean up the Finney Avenue Residence as their project. Located on Finney Avenue near the ForKids Suffolk House, the Finney Avenue Residence is a home for intellectually-disabled adults owned by the Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority and run by the Western Tidewater Community Services Board.

Their project included creating a nice sitting area on a back patio, landscaping and pruning trees in front of the house, and painting the house.

Many residents of Suffolk may never see the improvements they made, but they will be vital to the 12 residents who currently live at the shelter and the staff members who work there. And it demonstrates the importance of good corporate citizenship.

To the local employees of BB&T, thank you for your service. The citizens of Suffolk appreciate it.