Blue Cross Volunteers Help 53 Nonprofits Build Healthier Communities during Annual Service Day

News provided by

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Sep 21, 2018, 08:21 ET

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
American Red Cross	Boston	Sorting and bagging groceries for residents in need across the Commonwealth.
Ascentria Care Alliance	Blue Cross Hingham Office	Assembling healthy fruit baskets to donate to Ascentria clients across the state including senior citizens, teen mothers and their children, and refugees from around the world.
Big Sister Association of Greater Boston	Boston	Reviving unused space for girls and families at the Ruth Barkley Housing Development in the South End by organizing, cleaning, and painting recreational spaces.
Boston Area Gleaners	Sharon	Harvesting and sorting produce to distribute to families struggling to access nutritious food.
Boston Harbor Now	Boston Harbor Islands	Cleaning beaches, clearing walking trails, and cutting back invasive plants on Boston Harbor Island.
Boston SCORES	Dorchester	Creating a positive environment at the Mather Elementary School by painting the auditorium, landscaping, creating games on the blacktop and organizing the library.
Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield	Marshfield	Enhancing the Club's gardens by designing and painting a wall mural and landscaping around the outdoor pool.
Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lowell	Lowell	Renovating the Club's small gym to create a community space for dance, yoga, Zumba, meditation and other wellness programming.
Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston	Charlestown	Painting and refreshing the gym for hundreds of Club kids to run, play, and learn.
Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester	Dorchester	Painting the activity rooms and spreading woodchips on the playground to create a safe space for club members.
Brockton VA (VA Boston Healthcare System)	Brockton	Supporting our nation's heroes by painting the outdoor areas, creating patient welcome kits, cleaning the facilities and visiting with patients at the Brockton VA.
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.
Community Servings	Boston	Preparing and packaging healthy nutritious meals for patients with critically and chronic illnesses.
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.
Crossroads	Duxbury	Helping close Camp Wing for the season by landscaping, performing bike maintenance, painting, and general cleaning and organizing camp 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.
Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts	Waltham	Performing trail maintenance to ensure accessibility and safety to all girls as they learn about themselves in nature.
Girls Inc. of Worcester	Worcester	Helping Girls Inc. of Worcester maintain an inviting space for girls by organizing their storage space.
Greenroots	Chelsea	Transforming a vacant urban lot into an urban farm to support uses for community engagement and growing healthy fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
Holly Hill Farm	Cohasset	Working in a certified organic farm helping weed, mulch, harvest produce, and maintain trails.
Hull Lifesaving Museum	Hull	Enjoying the ocean air and beautiful views while painting the museum's boat house, repairing ramps, gardening, and cleaning the museum's indoor and 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 Homeless	Lynn	Building, sanding, and painting 20 beds for children living in homeless shelters across Massachusetts.
Magical Moon Farm	Marshfield	Helping children diagnosed with cancer manage their disease holistically through proper nutrition, art and therapy by transforming an ordinary chain link fence into a "bottle wall."
Massachusetts Military Support Foundation	Buzzards Bay	Sorting and wrapping holiday gifts for children of military families and veterans.
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)	Middleborough	Building a family area next to the 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 Through Community Service	Blue Cross Boston Office	Building educational protein science kits that will aid in STEM classes for Boston middle and high school students.
Pine Street Inn	Boston	Chopping and dicing thousands of pounds of vegetables to make healthy well-balanced meals for Pine Street Inn clients.
Playworks	New Bedford	Transforming the parking lot into a fun and interactive playground at the Congdon Elementary School.
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.
RFK Children's Action Corps	South Yarmouth	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 storage.
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 Bay	South Boston	Cleaning the beach and painting canopies to ensure visitors enjoy the South Boston treasure.
Stars	Randolph	Transforming the outdoor play area at preschool and afterschool program by landscaping assembling a sandbox, picnic tables and storage shed.
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 Bank	Boston	Inspecting, sorting, and packing donated grocery items to help ensure that every person in need in Eastern MA receives at least one meal a day.
The Trustees	Hingham	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 beds for easy access.
Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center	Boston	Clearing trails and performing general island maintenance to help keep Thompson Island prepared to educate, challenge, and inspire visiting students.
United Way	Blue Cross Boston Office	Putting together fine motor skills activity kits and building and decorating educational games to donate to United Way agencies across the state.
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.
Wonderfund - Brockton	Brockton	Painting and assembling furniture to transform the family visiting rooms at local Department of Children and Families offices.
Wonderfund - Hyde Park	Hyde Park	Painting and assembling furniture to transform the family visiting rooms at local Department of Children and Families offices.
YMCA of Greater Boston - Camp Ponkapoag	Canton	Helping close the camp for the season by landscaping exterior spaces, painting cabins, and building and repairing storage shed and picnic tables.
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.
Zoo New England	Boston	Cleaning and organizing common spaces at the Zoo to create a clean and inviting space for visitors.

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.

SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts