Company-wide day of service supports BCBSRI 80^th anniversary celebration, “80 Acts of Kindness - It’s What We Live For"

PROVIDENCE, RI – As part of the eighth annual Blue across Rhode Island day of service on 13 de setembro, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) will partner with 14 local non-profit organizations across the state to help complete critical projects for each organization. More than 70 percent of BCBSRI employees will provide hands-on support for tasks like assembling food kits for distribution to food insecure families, preparing a dental clinic for the uninsured, refreshing affordable housing facilities, and packaging footwear for children struggling with homelessness.

Central to this year’s Blue across Rhode Island day of service is the company’s 80^th anniversary and commitment to the theme: 80 Acts of Kindness – It’s What We Live For. The community-service inspired campaign encourages BCBSRI employees to expand the company’s roster of volunteer activities, and member- and community-focused initiatives to no fewer than 80 acts of kindness in 2019.

“Blue Cross is committed to passionately leading a state of health and well-being across Rhode Island, and nowhere is this promise more palpable than during Blue across Rhode Island," said Carolyn Belisle, BCBSRI managing director of community relations. “On this day we join alongside the local non-profit organizations working hard to serve our communities and neighbors – spanning from seniors with Alzheimer’s to newborns in the NICU and everything in between."

In addition to volunteer support, project sites will receive a financial contribution of $5,000 from BCBSRI to support their critical work. Since the inaugural Blue across Rhode Island in 2012, employees have provided more than 24,000 volunteer hours and the company has donated $380,000 in funding to more than 50 agencies dedicated to helping Rhode Islanders live better, healthier lives.

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 100,000 people throughout the state.

The nonprofit organizations and sites selected for Blue across Rhode Island 2019 and the projects BCBSRI employees will work on include:

• The Children’s Workshop – Warren
  • Turn the play space into a safe and sensory stimulating place to be active, including painting a bike/trike track, creating math activities on the pavement and garden bed maintenance.
• The Confetti Foundation – East Providence
  • Create themed birthday party kits for children who have to spend a birthday in the hospital.
• Edesia – North Kingstown
  • Prepare nutritional products to give babies from low-income families their first exposure to peanuts to reduce the onset of nut allergies.
• Gotta Have Sole, Inc. – Cranston
  • Package footwear for children in homeless shelters, helping to give them the confidence to participate in sports, school, and social experiences alongside their peers.
• Hope Alzheimer’s Center – Cranston
  • Create a 50s-themed sock hop for center clients and will also help to renovate the center’s art studio.
• March of Dimes – Providence
  • Spend the day at Women & Infants Hospital to help give comfort to babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and their families by making tiny knit hats and blankets for the babies.
• Pawtucket Family YMCA – Pawtucket
  • Help refurbish the soft play area for little ones and their parents by installing new soft mats and painting, and repaint the classrooms where children complete their homework.
• Playworks at Waddington Elementary School – East Providence
  • Increase opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play by painting activity stations on the schoolyard and reimagining recess.
• Providence Housing Authority – Providence
  • Paint a series of murals around the Hartford Park affordable housing community.
• Recycle a Bike – Providence
  • Help recycle, refurbish and redistribute donated bicycles to people who need safe, accessible transportation.
• Rhode Island Community Food Bank – Providence
  • Pack 800 meal kits. These kits will provide food-insecure families with healthy food that they can cook right in their homes.
• Rhode Island Oral Health Foundation’s RI Mission of Mercy – Providence
  • Prepare for a two-day dental clinic where free treatment is provided to those who cannot afford dental care.
• What Cheer Flower Farm – Providence
  • Work on the organic urban farm that provides free flowers to Rhode Islanders who are in dire and stressful situations, like housebound seniors or people who are hospitalized.
• Westwood YMCA – Coventry
  • Refurbish the summer day camp’s indoor and outdoor spaces including painting, marking trails with interactive signs, landscaping and gardening.

For more information, visit the FAQ page and listen to BCBSRI’s podcast episode highlighting Blue across Rhode Island 2018.