KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ For Jeff Jones, the idea started at home.
As he's watched his teenage daughters grow up in a world ruled by devices and apps, he's worried about the lasting social toll of technology.
"The problem is a really big problem in society today about social isolation," he said. "The more that we're connected to one another technically the more disconnected we've become as people."
Jones has been the CEO of Kansas City-based H&R Block for the last two years. On Thursday, the company known for tax preparation rolled out a new campaign aimed at an unlikely target: loneliness.
The company's Make Every Block Better program will invest in neighborhood revitalization and small business. Jones said the company has committed at least $6.5 million over the next five years. But he says the program is about more than just writing checks.
"While we are providing financial resources, we're also bringing our people and scale to help tackle a topic," he said.
The initiative will work with five organizations: the Kauffman Foundation, Urban Neighborhood Initiative, Habitat for Humanity, social media network Nextdoor and KCRise Fund II, a local venture capital fund. Specifics of each program are still being worked out, but the company says the groups will help to form connections between neighbors and create spaces for communities to gather.
The Urban Neighborhood Initiative, for example, will host community-building events and help fund home repairs across its 10-neighborhood service area in Kansas City.
Aside from tackling an issue important to him, Jones wants the Make Every Block Better campaign to send a message to the local community. More than half of the $6.5 million will go toward Kansas City programs, he said.
"The first signal that I want to send is to Kansas City, which is the signal that this company and this community have been together for a long time," he said. "And we acknowledge that over the years we've drifted away. This is our first step in reconnecting with our hometown."
More broadly, Jones has challenged corporate staff and franchisees across the country to view the company's mission as more than just taxes. Even with plenty of digital tax preparation options, H&R Block has an advantage in its in-person service, he said. The company touts 10,000 retail locations across every U.S. congressional district. Oftentimes, customers navigate weighty issues like marriages, divorces and death as they file their taxes.
"For some people, these are the most rich in person conversations maybe they've had in weeks or months," Jones said. "We are in a unique position to reestablish the importance of a conversation and how important a conversation is to being connected."
The focus on social isolation has extended beyond philanthropy.
The company is reworking the physical layout of its offices downtown and will soon unveil a remodeled common space.
Vinoo Vijay, the company's chief marketing officer, said he hopes to see employees spread out working together across the new space. For the company, it's an acknowledgment that technological competencies, as important as they are, aren't everything in the workplace.
"Let's not forget, we're all human. We are social animals," he said. "Time together is what gives us a sense of community belonging, engagement and joy."
