Blue Cross Volunteers Help 53 Nonprofits Build Healthier Communities during Annual Service Day
BOSTON, Sept. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, 3,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts associates are volunteering at 53 service projects across the Commonwealth focused on improving the health of children and families as part of the company's annual Service Day.
From Springfield to South Yarmouth, Blue Cross volunteers will help improve access to healthy living programming and initiatives in 33 towns and communities by supporting service projects such as creating new outdoor play spaces for children to stay active, harvesting fresh produce to donate to local food pantries, and cleaning beaches and clearing trails to improve access to green space.
In addition to volunteer support, each Service Day nonprofit partner will also receive a $5,000 grant for materials to assist in their efforts. These grants, coupled with the 22,000 volunteer hours Blue Cross associates will contribute, brings the total 2018 community contribution on Service Day upwards of $1.2 million. Since Service Day's inception in 2011, Blue Cross has made more than $7 million in community contributions on the annual volunteer day.
"We look forward to Service Day every year," said Andrew Dreyfus, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts President and CEO. "Our associates demonstrate their commitment to our members every day, but Service Day provides an opportunity to partner with over 50 remarkable not-for-profits to improve the health of all Massachusetts residents."
"I love having the opportunity to go into the community and directly help those in need," says Michael O'Brien, Provider Analyst at Blue Cross and site leader at The May Institute project. "It is rewarding to work with organizations like the May Institute to create a safe space where people of all abilities can learn and thrive as healthy citizens."
For more information on Blue Cross' annual Service Day and the company's commitment to healthy living, visit their Service Corporate Citizenship website, read the 2017 Annual Report, and view highlights of Service Day 2017.
Service Day community partners and projects:
Organization
Location
Project Description
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American Red Cross
Boston Sorting and bagging groceries for
residents in need across the
Commonwealth.
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Assembling healthy fruit baskets to
donate to Ascentria clients across the
state including senior citizens, teen
mothers and their children, and
Ascentria Care Alliance Blue Cross Hingham Office refugees from around the world.
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Big Sister Association of Reviving unused space for girls and
Greater Boston families at the Ruth Barkley Housing
Development in the South End by
organizing, cleaning, and painting
Boston recreational spaces.
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Boston Area Gleaners
Sharon Harvesting and sorting produce to
distribute to families struggling to
access nutritious food.
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Boston Harbor Now Boston Harbor Islands Cleaning beaches, clearing walking
trails, and cutting back invasive
plants on Boston Harbor Island.
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Creating a positive environment at the
Mather Elementary School by painting
the auditorium, landscaping, creating
games on the blacktop and organizing
Boston SCORES
Dorchester the library.
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Boys & Girls Club of
Marshfield Enhancing the Club's gardens by
Marshfield designing and painting a wall mural and
landscaping around the outdoor pool.
---
Boys and Girls Club of
Lowell Renovating the Club's small gym to
Greater Lowell create a community space for dance,
yoga, Zumba, meditation and other
wellness programming.
---
Boys and Girls Clubs of
Charlestown Painting and refreshing the gym for
Boston hundreds of Club kids to run, play, and
learn.
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Boys and Girls Clubs of
Dorchester Painting the activity rooms and
Dorchester spreading woodchips on the playground
to create a safe space for club
members.
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Brockton VA (VA Boston Supporting our nation's heroes by
Healthcare System) painting the outdoor areas, creating
patient welcome kits, cleaning the
facilities and visiting with patients
Brockton at the Brockton VA.
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Camp Harbor View Boston Harbor Islands Closing the camp after a fun-filled
summer by harvesting the garden, taking
inventory of camp materials, and
cleaning facilities.
---
Community Harvest Project
Grafton Harvesting, sorting, and washing produce
to be donated to partners like
Worcester County Food Bank, Community
Servings, and Loaves and Fishes.
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Community Servings
Boston Preparing and packaging healthy
nutritious meals for patients with
critically and chronic illnesses.
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Cradles to Crayons Blue Cross Hingham and Quincy Office Assembling hygiene kits, packaging hats
and gloves, and writing warm wish notes
for children in need across the state.
---
Helping close Camp Wing for the season
by landscaping, performing bike
maintenance, painting, and general
cleaning and organizing camp
Crossroads
Duxbury classrooms.
---
Father Bills & Mainspring
Stoughton Creating a bright and joyful space for
families trying to achieve self-
sufficiency by painting and enhancing
living areas at local homeless shelter.
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Girl Scouts of Eastern
Waltham Performing trail maintenance to ensure
Massachusetts accessibility and safety to all girls
as they learn about themselves in
nature.
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Girls Inc. of Worcester
Worcester Helping Girls Inc. of Worcester maintain
an inviting space for girls by
organizing their storage space.
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Greenroots
Chelsea Transforming a vacant urban lot into an
urban farm to support uses for
community engagement and growing
healthy fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
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Holly Hill Farm
Cohasset Working in a certified organic farm
helping weed, mulch, harvest produce,
and maintain trails.
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Enjoying the ocean air and beautiful
views while painting the museum's boat
house, repairing ramps, gardening, and
cleaning the museum's indoor and
Hull Lifesaving Museum
Hull outdoor spaces.
Interfaith Social Services Blue Cross Quincy Office Assembling hundreds of hygiene kits,
grinding coffee beans and preparing
grocery bags for local Quincy residents
in need.
---
JoinedForces
Springfield Honoring our nation's heroes by helping
paint, landscape, and repair a
deserving veteran's home.
---
MA Coalition for the
Lynn Building, sanding, and painting 20 beds
Homeless for children living in homeless
shelters across Massachusetts.
---
Helping children diagnosed with cancer
manage their disease holistically
through proper nutrition, art and
therapy by transforming an ordinary
Magical Moon Farm
Marshfield chain link fence into a "bottle wall."
---
Massachusetts Military
Buzzards Bay Sorting and wrapping holiday gifts for
Support Foundation children of military families and
veterans.
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May Institute
Raynham Freshening the classroom and common
areas for adults with developmental
delay and brain injuries by painting,
and organizing books and furniture.
---
Message of Hope Foundation
Pocasset Assembling Happy Hope Holiday Bags
filled with fun activities and crafts
for young children who have been
hospitalized over the holidays.
---
Old Colony YMCA
Middleborough Building a family area next to the
(Middleborough) YMCA's playground complete with games,
benches, and flower beds.
---
Old Colony YMCA (Plymouth)
Plymouth Creating new outdoor fun at Camp Clark
by painting a pickle ball court,
creating a music garden, and building
boom boxes.
---
Old Colony YMCA (Stoughton)
Stoughton Building a playground for kids to
explore and test their abilities at
Stoughton YMCA.
---
People Making a Difference Blue Cross Boston Office Building educational protein science
Through Community Service kits that will aid in STEM classes for
Boston middle and high school students.
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Pine Street Inn
Boston Chopping and dicing thousands of pounds
of vegetables to make healthy well-
balanced meals for Pine Street Inn
clients.
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Playworks
New Bedford Transforming the parking lot into a fun
and interactive playground at the
Congdon Elementary School.
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Project Just Because
Hopkinton Organizing and sorting donations to be
given to children for the holidays,
when they are admitted to the hospital,
or in need of a warm coat.
---
Helping make this temporary home for at
risk youth a more welcoming and cheer
place by building a raised vegetable
garden, painting common areas, and
reorganizing the garage for more
RFK Children's Action Corps
South Yarmouth storage.
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Room to Grow
Boston Sorting and organizing baby items that
are donated to low-income mothers with
children 0-3 years old.
---
Save the Harbor Save the
South Boston Cleaning the beach and painting canopies
Bay to ensure visitors enjoy the South
Boston treasure.
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Stars
Randolph Transforming the outdoor play area at
preschool and afterschool program by
landscaping assembling a sandbox,
picnic tables and storage shed.
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The Food Project
Lynn Transforming a vacant urban lot into an
urban farm to support uses for
community engagement and growing
healthy fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
---
The Greater Boston Food
Boston Inspecting, sorting, and packing donated
Bank grocery items to help ensure that every
person in need in Eastern MA receives
at least one meal a day.
Creating new spaces for visitors to
enjoy at the last functional farm in
Hingham by building a raised platform
for story hour, a playground for
campers and goats, and raised garden
The Trustees
Hingham beds for easy access.
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Thompson Island Outward Clearing trails and performing general
Bound Education Center island maintenance to help keep
Thompson Island prepared to educate,
challenge, and inspire visiting
Boston students.
Putting together fine motor skills
activity kits and building and
decorating educational games to donate
to United Way agencies across the
United Way Blue Cross Boston Office state.
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VietAID
Dorchester Renovating the common space and
playground area at the Vietnamese
American Community Center in Fields
Corner.
---
West End House
Allston Building an obstacle course to engage
youth in healthy activities and
preparing healthy meals.
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Wonderfund -Brockton
Brockton Painting and assembling furniture to
transform the family visiting rooms at
local Department of Children and
Families offices.
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Wonderfund -Hyde Park
Hyde Park Painting and assembling furniture to
transform the family visiting rooms at
local Department of Children and
Families offices.
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YMCA of Greater Boston -
Canton Helping close the camp for the season by
Camp Ponkapoag landscaping exterior spaces, painting
cabins, and building and repairing
storage shed and picnic tables.
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YMCA Southcoast
Wareham Building and updating outdoor activity
areas at the YMCA Southcoast's Camp by
building an outdoor stage backdrop, and
assembling a storage shed.
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Zoo New England
Boston Cleaning and organizing common spaces at
the Zoo to create a clean and inviting
space for visitors.
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About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (bluecrossma.com) is a community-focused, tax-paying, not-for-profit health plan headquartered in Boston. We're the trusted health plan for more than 25,000 Massachusetts employers and are committed to working with others in a spirit of shared responsibility to make quality health care affordable. Consistent with our corporate promise to always put our 2.8 million members first, we're rated among the nation's best health plans for member satisfaction and quality. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
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SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts