Blue Shield of California has reached the annual goal of 50 percent employee volunteer participation, totaling more than 13,000 hours served in California communities. The plan's 2018 participation rate by employees is 5 percent more than 2017 and 20 percent more than 2016.
The volunteer participation by Blue Shield exceeds the industry standard; members of the Civic 50, the 50 companies recognized for their Corporate Citizenship efforts by the Points of Light Foundation, averaged 39 percent participation in 2017.
This year Blue Shield of California held 120 volunteer events supporting healthy living, totaling $330,000 in volunteer hour value. One of the most noteworthy volunteer events was Make Time for Health, a partnership with the American Heart Association that provides a healthy lifestyle curriculum for 3rd to 5th graders in Oakland. Employees also raised an additional $160,000 for domestic violence prevention through a series of Walk a Mile in Her Shoes events in partnership with the Center for Violence Free Relationships. In addition, more than 1,000 employees volunteered at food banks in 2018.