BCBS Employees Take an Active Role in Community Health Initiatives

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) system provides health insurance coverage for one in every three Americans. About 150,000 of those people are employees of the 36 BCBS companies - people who live, work and play in the same communities we serve. From CEOs to or summer interns, BCBS employees are committed to taking an active role to help improve the health of our neighbors.

We’re exceptionally proud of employees from the 36 BCBS companies and their foundations, who collectively donated nearly 400,000 volunteer hours and more than $10 million of their own money to community initiatives last year. We strive to foster a corporate culture in which employees are personally invested in charitable programs, which not only allows them to give back, but allows them to build a deeper relationship with the communities we serve.

The willingness of our employees to go outside the bounds of their “day job” is exemplified by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) employees’ volunteer work with The Trustees of Reservations’ Weir Farm in Boston. BCBSMA’s employees lend their time and talent by helping to maintain trails, manage the children’s garden, paint the barn and tend to crops throughout spring and summer. Through the Skills-Based Volunteer Program, employees also help develop a framework to guide The Trustees’ business and program planning. Over 160 BCBSMA employees performed more than 730 hours of service and produced over 4,000 pounds of vegetables to support operations at the Kitchen, an educational food health learning center at the Boston Public Market, the nation’s first year-round, indoor market featuring 100 percent locally sourced food.

Employees of Capital BlueCross (Capital BC) also went above and beyond to help their local community. Capital BC employees work closely with Easterseals, a non-profit organization that assists those with disabilities, to design innovative events that bring joy, education and empowerment. At one particularly popular event, ‘the prom’, sponsored by Capital BC, Capital BC employees helped attendees find suits and dresses, make decorations, take photos, arrange a DJ and served as chaperones. This night of music, dancing and fun was especially meaningful for attendees who are not able to attend a traditional prom. Through their inspiring work with those in their community, Capital BC employees are living proof of our mantra that people are at the center of our investments.

Thank you to all of our employees for their hard work and commitment to their communities. To learn more about these programs and other ways Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are making a difference in local communities, download the full Investing in America’s Health report.