BOSTON — September 17, 2013 (Click to Tweet) – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (Blue Cross) will hold its fourth annual company-wide Service Daytoday. Close to 3,200 employees will volunteer at 45 different community sites across the state to beautify recreational areas, prepare meals, assemble food and clothes items, and enhance educational facilities, among many other activities.
"Service Day strengthens cities, towns, and neighborhoods across Massachusetts and supports the meaningful work of our nonprofit partners," said Andrew Dreyfus president and CEO. "Its impact is extraordinary. This year, our associates will contribute more than 20,000 volunteer hours. Never am I prouder to be the leader of this community-focused company than on Service Day."
To support the community service projects, sites receive a $5,000 grant. Blue Cross donates over $400,000 to the community partners in total on Service Day. Advancing the health and wellbeing of children and families is essential to Blue Cross' mission. Through strategic investment, targeted initiatives, environmentally sustainable practices and the civic leadership of its associates, Blue Cross works to improve the lives of families and communities in need. For more information, read the 2013 Corporate Citizenship Report or watch highlights from Service Day 2013.
2014 Service Day community partners and projects:
| Organization | Location | Project Description |
| American Red Cross of Massachusetts | Roxbury | Bag and organize groceries to benefit families in need across the commonwealth. |
| Appalachian Mountain Club | West Bridgewater | Restore and conserve the Bay Circuit Trail. |
| Big Sister Association of Greater Boston | South Boston | Renovate and beautify the Old Colony Housing Project by painting, landscaping and creating more functional spaces for residents. |
| Boston Harbor Island Alliance | Peddocks Island | Participate in a beach clean-up and ensure the islands remain vibrant, public space - now and for future generations. |
| Boston Renaissance Charter Public School | Hyde Park | Help build a portable whiteboard, tables, and benches that will allow teachers to take any class outside. |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston | Roxbury | Beautify the grounds, spruce up the playground, and prepare healthy snacks for hundreds of kids. |
| Camp Harbor View | Boston Harbor Island | Clean, organize and winterize after a summer of exploration and education. |
| Community Servings | Jamaica Plain | Chop, peel, and dice 2,800 pounds of produce that will be used to provide 8,500 lunches and dinners to 875 individuals and families who are homebound with acute life-threatening illnesses. |
| Cradles to Crayons | Brighton | Sort donations at the Giving Factory. |
| Crittenton Women's Union | Brighton | Beautify the facility through indoor and outdoor maintenance projects. |
| Crossroads for Kids | Duxbury | Prepare camp for its school year programming. |
| Emerald Necklace Conservancy | Brookline | Tackle large strands of invasive plants that are threatening the woodlands in Olmsted Park. |
| Father Bills & Main Spring | Brockton | Beautify the inside and outside of the facility to help guests feel welcome. |
| Franklin Park Coalition | Dorchester | Clear invasive plants and replace them with native species as well as other projects rejuvenating the park. |
| Girls Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts | Plymouth | Paint, stain, rebuild, refurbish and landscape Camp Wind in the Pines. |
| Hull Lifesaving Museum | Hull | Scrape and paint hulls, replank the ramp at the Windmill Point boathouse, and help prepare for the fall rowing season. |
| Ascentria Care Alliance | Sutton | Participate in planting and harvesting at New Lands Farm. |
| Magical Moon Farm | Marshfield | Create an enchanted outdoor retreat for children facing life threatening illness. |
| Massachusetts Audubon Society | Mattapan | Spruce up the Nature Nook and restore a portion of the two-mile trail system. |
| Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless | Lynn | Paint furniture to accompany new beds for children and household items for clients to easily view and select for their new apartments. |
| Old Colony YMCA— Bridgewater | East Bridgewater | Create a story book trail for kids and build a greenhouse to teach children about healthy living. |
| Old Colony YMCA—Brockton (Middleboro site) | Middleboro | Refurbish campgrounds, replace benches, and add a flower garden. |
| Old Colony YMCA—Plymouth | Plymouth | Create a volleyball court to increase access to outdoor recreational activities. |
| Old Colony YMCA—Stoughton | Stoughton | Build an Outdoor Science Discovery Center. |
| People Making a Difference Through Community Service | Cambridge | Assemble Lego protein science kits. |
| Pine Street Inn | South End, Boston | Chop more than 1,700 lbs of vegetables for emergency shelter meals. |
| Playworks | Lawrence | Beautify the playground and soccer field, as well as engage with students as "Assistant Coaches" during organized recess activities. |
| Project Just Because | Hopkinton | Assemble holiday packages of toys and other surprises. |
| Rebuilding Together Springfield | Springfield | Improve the home of an OEF/OIF Veteran by painting and landscaping. |
| Save the Harbor/Save the Bay | South Boston | Clean and beautify over 10 acres of beaches, board walks, pathways and parks. |
| STARS | Westwood | Prepare the camp for winter by repairing picnic tables, cabins and the amphitheater. |
| The Food Project | Dorchester | Harvest food from the farm distributed through community supported agriculture programs and farmers' markets, and donated to local hunger relief organizations. |
| The Greater Boston Food Bank | Boston | Inspect, sort and repack donated grocery items in their warehouse – one of the largest food banks in the country. |
| The Salvation Army | Sharon | Spruce up the camp, which provides an overnight experience for more than 1,200 disadvantaged youth. |
| The Trustees of Reservations | Hingham | Prepare vegetable beds for winter, paint the livestock barn, maintain trails, and winterize the farm, greenhouse, and the barn. |
| Thompson Island Outward Bound | Boston Harbor Island | Prepare for the annual 4K Trail Run on Thompson Island on September 18. |
| Thrive in 5 – United Way of MA Bay | Boston | Build craft kits for kids. |
| VA Boston Healthcare System – Brockton | Brockton | Paint, landscape, window wash, and write letters to WWII veterans. |
| West End House Boys & Girls Club | Allston | Decorate a welcoming and motivational space for college-bound teenagers, create school supply bags for elementary school students, and prepare more than 1,000 delicious meals for young people from ages 7 to 18. |
| YMCA Cape Cod | Sandwich | Participate in trail maintenance, interior and exterior painting, and drywalling a new cabin. |
| YMCA Greater Boston | Roxbury & Dorchester | Landscape, garden and build a haunted house in preparation for Halloween. |
| Youth Build Boston | Roxbury | Participate in interior painting, light repairs, and outdoor beautification at Paige Academy. |
| Zoo New England | Dorchester | Weed in the giraffe savannah, harvest produce in the organic garden, and prepare arts and crafts activities for children's events. |
About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (www.bluecrossma.com) is a community-focused, tax-paying, not-for-profit health plan headquartered in Boston. We are the trusted health plan for more than 31,500 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 are rated among the nation's best health plans for member satisfaction and quality. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.