COMMUNITY NEWS

Foundation For The Carolinas: Jenene Seymour
(704) 973-4537

Wachovia Corporation: Jamie Miyares
(336) 732-5856

December 09, 2002
Foundation for the Carolinas Announces New Wachovia Employee Catastrophic Relief Fund
Foundation For The Carolinas to administer Wachovia Employees Care (WE Care) Fund to aid employees in need of emergency financial aid.

CHARLOTTE - Foundation For The Carolinas is partnering with Wachovia to introduce a new way for Wachovia employees to help each other when they need it most. The Wachovia Employees Care (WE Care) Fund offers grants of up to $5,000 to Wachovia employees going through a personal or family crisis resulting from a natural disaster, national emergency or personal tragedy.

Wachovia CEO Ken Thompson announced the new fund on Sept. 11, and now Wachovia is beginning the contributions process that is at the heart of the program. Starting Nov. 18, 2002, employees were invited to begin donating to the Fund, which will help employees in need starting January 2003. Employee contributions will be combined to create a pool to provide one-time assistance to cover expenses not covered by insurance.

"This partnership is both a natural extension of the company's core values and a concrete manifestation of the kindness and compassion our employees have always had," said Thompson. "The Fund reflects the fact that Wachovia is more than a company-it's a caring and supportive community."

WE Care, administered by Foundation For The Carolinas, was launched with seed money from the Wachovia Foundation, but will be sustained long-term by employee contributions.

"There are many things that make Wachovia a great company, but one of the most significant is the kindness and compassion of the people who work here," said Shannon McFayden, Wachovia's Director of Community Affairs. "We see this over and over whenever a colleague suffers a personal setback or a natural disaster hits one of our regions."

Thompson adds that, "By directly impacting the lives of employees and their families, WE Care will create positive change, resulting in shared success and changed lives. We embrace our responsibility as a corporate family, and have created this Fund to make sure there are resources on hand when the need arises to help our teammates through tough times."

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to continue to partner with Wachovia in their outreach efforts to employees," said Michael Marsicano, President of Foundation For The Carolinas. The Foundation worked with Wachovia after September 11 to administer the Bank's Disaster Relief Fund, which provided over $150,000 in aid to families.

About Wachovia Corporation

Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB), created through the Sept. 1, 2001, merger of First Union and Wachovia, had assets of $334 billion and stockholder's equity of $32 billion at Sept. 30, 2002. Wachovia is a leading provider of financial services to 20 million retail, brokerage and corporate customers throughout the East Coast and the nation. The company operates full-service banking offices under the First Union and Wachovia names in 11 East Coast states and Washington, D.C., and offers full-service brokerage with offices in 49 states and global services through more than 30 international offices. Online banking and brokerage products and services are available through wachovia.com.

About Foundation For The Carolinas

Foundation For The Carolinas is a nonprofit organization that serves donors, communities and a broad range of charitable purposes in North and South Carolina. With assets of over $222 million, the Foundation encourages and makes possible philanthropic giving by individuals of all means to benefit their communities both now and in the future. For more information, visit www.fftc.org.

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