2013 Sanofi Season of Solidarity: A Coordinated Effort This Fall

This post was authored by Sabrina Spitaletta, associate vice president, NA Corporate Social Responsibility & Sanofi Foundation for North America and John Spinnato, vice president, NA Corporate Social Responsibility and President, Sanofi Foundation for North America.

Over the past couple of years there has been a Global Sanofi effort that creates a coordinated effort each Fall. The 2013 Season of Solidarity kicked off in late September, with more than 200 volunteer initiatives beginning in October across North America and all business areas. From support for our troops to cancer prevention, employees are making a difference during the three month period devoted to these efforts – and volunteerism is also encouraged throughout the year.

We are inspired by some of the below employee volunteer stories from the 2013 Season of Solidarity:

The Children’s Inn
Employees assembled in the 55 Corporate Drive auditorium (Sanofi US Headquarters in Bridgewater, NJ) to create “Thoughtful Treasures” for the young residents at The Children’s Inn at NIH. Thanks to Caring Capital and the professional artists’ direction all projects are pieces of art! The Thoughtful Treasures mailbox program brings many moments of joy and happiness to children and their siblings. Upon arrival at The Inn, each child is given their own mailbox to receive mail, and also special gifts. During the child’s stay, a special treasure is placed in the child’s mailbox each day, to lift spirits and bring smiles and laughter, lifting spirits and bringing smiles and laughter.

American Cancer Society- Hope Lodge Events
In addition, Sanofi Oncology employees included colleagues as they continued their year round visits to 31 local Hope Lodges in 2013 to celebrate the American Cancer Society’s 100th Birthday, celebrating with cake, balloons and activities!

VETS Initiative with the Staten Island Project Homefront (SIPH)
Earlier in November, the VETS Employee Resource Group (ERG) collaborated with the SIPH to assemble care packages for service members in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait. Nearly four bins full of personal care necessities, favorite foods, and entertainment items were distributed to our troops overseas.

Children’s Health Fund (CHF) Outreach 
To assist with the continuing recovery efforts this year led by CHF for children in NY and NJ following Hurricane Sandy, a group of Sanofi employees created 500 “Care Kits” for CHF. As a part of this season employees collected and donated over 2,000 books (and counting) to various CHF locations across the Nation. The Orlando CHF mobile team was able to share some of the books with a patient! Also, employees painted apartments at a family shelter in the Bronx. Check out photos from this event, here.

Stop Hunger Now Initiative
On November 19, Sanofi Global Services Division executives joined 100 employees to help package 10,000 vitamin fortified rice-based meals. Volunteers helped setup for the production of 10,000 vitamin fortified rice-based meals for Stop Hunger Now. This was a high energy assembly line complete with fun, music, education, and the outcome of 10,000 meals for developmental programs in one of the 70 countries.

Matheny Medical and Educational Center
Sanofi Corporate Affairs’ Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Wellness spent time with residents at the Matheny Medical and Educational Center this Halloween decorating pumpkins and creating “boo-ti-ful” decorations and helping students and residents practice cooking skills.

Our volunteers were thanked in this blog!

Dragon Boating on Lake Parsippany-Research Team

In October, Sanofi  Research & Development employees teamed up with the  NJ Dragon Boating Club to teach water safety and paddling skills to disadvantaged children on Lake Parsippany through dragon boat racing. Before leaving the lake for the day, each child received a certificate and medal for their day spent on the water – and of course, great memories to share with family and friends!

School – Branchburg, NJ
Volunteers at the Work Center worked side-by-side with adult clients and students doing contract work, including the assembly of loose leaf manuals and toys and mass mailings.

Thanks again to all of the Sanofi volunteers, we were captured in Midland School’s Newsletter and on their Facebook page!

Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults 
In early December, employees assembled 50 Chemo Care Bags while listening to a patient’s story from the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults during a lunch-and-learn. These bags will be extremely useful for those patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment. The Ulman Cancer Fund’s mission is to help enhance life by supporting, educating and connecting young adults and their loved ones affected by cancer.

All of the volunteer activities over the past three months have aligned perfectly with the holiday spirit!