Company-wide day of service will provide community support for 13 organizations statewide

PROVIDENCE, RI (15 de julho, 2021) – Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) will again embark on its annual day of service this fall to help nonprofit partners whose missions are so critical to the fabric of a healthy and vibrant community. As part of the tenth annual Blue across Rhode Island day of service on 24 de setembro, BCBSRI will partner with 13 nonprofit organizations across the state that work to support the health and well-being of Rhode Islanders.

Since the day’s inception, BCBSRI employees have signed up to provide support for tasks at 118 service day projects, including curating outdoor spaces, packaging footwear for children impacted by homelessness, building affordable and safe homes, creating meal kits for distribution by local food banks and conducting impactful projects virtually.

“Much has changed over the past ten years, but our commitment to the health and well-being of our Rhode Island communities has remained steadfast. Our associates rise to the occasion time and again to help their fellow Rhode Islanders, who benefit from the essential services these community organizations provide," said Carolyn Belisle, BCBSRI managing director of corporate social responsibility. “Blue across Rhode Island shows what we can accomplish – in a single day – when we work together with a shared vision to make life better for all in Rhode Island."

In addition to volunteer support, project sites will receive a financial contribution of $5,000 from BCBSRI to support their work. Since the inaugural Blue across Rhode Island in 2012, employees have provided more than 30,000 volunteer hours and the company has donated more than $605,000 in funding to nearly 70 agencies around the state.

Recognized nationally as a “Best in Class" volunteer initiative, Blue across Rhode Island has become not only a signature event for BCBSRI employees, but also an invaluable resource for the organizations and those involved – making a lasting impact on the lives of more than 133,000 people throughout the state.

The local organizations selected for Blue across Rhode Island 2021 and the projects BCBSRI employees will work on include:

134 Collaborative – Providence

• BlueAngel volunteers will organize a food pantry and paint and improve spaces that host programs for people whose lives have been impacted by homelessness, food insecurity, mental illness, substance use, social injustice and economic insecurity.

Amenity Aid – statewide (project will take place in Providence)

• BlueAngel volunteers will assemble kits providing essential hygiene products to be distributed to street-based outreach programs as well as shelters and community centers that make them available to clients during meals. This includes individuals who are homeless or living in poverty who will not have to choose between food and menstrual products.

Boys & Girls Club of Northern Rhode Island – Cumberland

• BlueAngel volunteers will help make the Cumberland Clubhouse a beautiful, clean, and welcoming play space for youth and teens to come to after school, a time with a crucial need: one in six Rhode Island students is unsupervised once the school day ends. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Northern Rhode Island helps meet this need by providing a safe space, and volunteers will help to update and beautify outdoor programming spaces.

Children’s Friend – virtual project/statewide

• BlueAngel volunteers will assemble no-sew blankets for low-income infants and toddlers that will be distributed at the annual “Spirit of Giving" holiday drive. This event provides gifts of clothing and toys to make the winter holidays a special time for Rhode Island’s most vulnerable families.

Gotta Have Sole Foundation – Cranston

• BlueAngel volunteers will package footwear for children experiencing homelessness and write messages of hope for children to give them confidence to participate in sports, school and social experiences alongside their peers.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Providence – Providence

• BlueAngel volunteers will provide home modifications as part of Habitat PVD’s “Aging in Place" program to reduce fall hazards, allowing older adults to age in their homes comfortably and confidently.

Habitat for Humanity for Rhode Island – South County, Inc. – South County

• BlueAngel volunteers will help a family change their lives through home ownership by helping to build a healthy, safe home for a local family.

Happy Hope Foundation – virtual project/statewide

• BlueAngel volunteers will assemble “Happy Hope Bags" - special activity kits that provide a boost of happiness and hope to children receiving care at Hasbro Children’s Hospital.

Hope Alzheimer’s Center – Cranston

• BlueAngel volunteers will host a festive hoe-down for center participants, as well as help give the center a fresh coat of paint and bake cookies alongside participants for the center’s annual soiree.

NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley – Pascoag

• BlueAngel volunteers will help families who have come together through a USDA self-help housing program building their own affordable homes. Volunteers will work with homeowners to install sheet rock and prime and paint at seven houses across the neighborhood, bringing families one step closer to move in day.

Partnership for Providence Parks, Recs & Streetscapes – Providence

• BlueAngel volunteers will support building an outdoor classroom at Kizirian Elementary School by repairing and restocking the library, installing a park wayfinding map for students to learn and use park assets and assembling a new Blender Bike to address food equity.

Playworks New England – Central Falls

• BlueAngel volunteers will work together to transform the blacktop at Raices Dual Language Academy - as part of the Recess Rocks in Rhode Island Initiative - into a fun, engaging, and creative space for the students for years to come. Volunteers will complete a total playground refresh, including dynamic game areas as well as refreshing old designs and existing paint.

Riverzedge Arts – Woonsocket

• BlueAngel volunteers will transform one of the neighborhood’s only green spaces into a welcoming area for youth participants in the Riverzedge programming and neighbors to enjoy.

For more information about Blue across Rhode Island and all of BCBSRI’s efforts to support the health and well-being of the Rhode Island community, visit BCBSRI’s community investment page.