After experiencing record rainfall in California this past winter, Blue Shield of California employees are excited to get out and serve in the famous California sunshine. 2019 is the 80th anniversary for Blue Shield and the non-profit mission driven company has set its sights on achieving 80 percent employee participation in corporate citizenship activities.
To reach 80 percent participation, Blue Shield’s Citizenship team has more than 50 community service events planned in the month of May alone. The community service events were all chosen to help improve the health and well-being of the communities that Blue Shield serves, including:
- Make Time for Health Festival with the American Heart Association in Oakland
- Walk-A-Mile in Her Shoes for domestic violence prevention at 5 locations across California
- Packing food to close the gap of food deserts at 16 Food Banks around the state
- Beautifying our communities at 7 locations from cherished beaches to beloved hiking trails and landmarks
- Variety of other events from building teddy bears to building play grounds, so kids can have a safe place to play
Employees will be able to participate in a variety of ways, because Blue Shield has one of the most robust Citizenship programs for a company of their size.
- Every employee has 24 community service hours to take time off to give back
- They offer employer matched donations for health and education focused qualified 501c3 organizations, and during May that match is 3:1
- Dollars for Doers where the company donates funds to select non-profits for every hour an employee volunteers
- Employees can also give back through skills-based volunteering through Taproot Plus
- All new hires are offered Day One donations to select charities of their choice
- Employees are recognized for their citizenship work at the highest honor through the company’s Mission and Values In Action award for Corporate Citizenship
In 2018, Blue Shield held 131 volunteer events supporting healthy living, totaling 34,231 volunteer hours that are worth more than $330,000 in value, which was with 51 percent employee participation. Imagine what they can accomplish when they achieve 80 percent participation. Blue Shield employees will never stop.