Blue Cross Blue Shield Honored for Volunteerism Program

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has been honored for its outstanding corporate volunteer program as recipient of the Corporate Volunteerism Council Twin Cities' 2003 Leadership Award. Blue Cross will receive the award at a presentation on Feb. 26, 2004.

CVC's 2003 Leadership Award recognizes the outstanding leadership of Blue Cross and Blue Shield's Heart of Blue Volunteer Program. Heart of Blue components include a volunteer council with a charter, a formal volunteer release policy, an internal volunteer database, and a Dollars for Doers program. Volunteer activities include painting homes of low-income seniors through Paint-a-Thon, assisting with the Special Olympics Minnesota summer games, engaging in an e-mentoring program with students at Dakota Hills Middle School, and conducting a "Healing Hats" drive to benefit chemotherapy patients.

"Blue Cross demonstrated its leadership to volunteerism by methodically and meticulously launching an employee-led volunteer program that will touch the lives of thousands of young people and families," said CVC president Kathleen Lucht. "Blue Cross employees are committed to numerous community projects, exemplifying the company's values of social responsibility and compassion."

According to CVC, a unique component of the Heart of Blue program is the formal volunteer release policy. Many companies have informal volunteer policies, and the number of companies offering paid volunteer leave time is small nationwide. But Blue Cross manages its volunteer policy as an official Human Resources policy. Employees with at least six months of service have access to 20 hours of release time for volunteer service, provided the organization and activity adhere to the program's guidelines. In its first year, Blue Cross employees used more than 7,000 volunteer release hours - or the equivalent of a person working full-time in the community for three years. The value of this time, as determined by Independent Sector, is more than $115,780. In addition, through the Dollars for Doers program, 60 Blue Cross employees were recognized for their volunteerism with a certificate and $200 contribution to the nonprofit organization for which they volunteered.

"We are honored to receive the CVC Leadership Award. Volunteer efforts are one of the important ways we demonstrate our commitment to make a healthy difference in people's lives," said Mark W. Banks, M.D., Blue Cross president and CEO. "This award acknowledges the tremendous volunteer efforts of our employees."

With the Leadership Award comes a $500 CVC contribution to a nonprofit of the company's choice. Blue Cross has selected Dakota Area Resources and Transportation for Seniors (DARTS), which has collaborated with Blue Cross on numerous volunteer efforts.

The award will be presented at the Corporate Volunteerism Council Twin Cities' Annual Meeting and Awards Presentation on Feb. 26 at the Golden Valley Golf and Country Club. Willie A. Nesbit, Jr. of the Ronald M. Hubbs Center for Lifelong Learning will give the keynote address, "Volunteerism = Passionate Work."

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