Our employees give thousands of hours and dollars every year to community projects and nonprofit groups through the Heart of Blue program. They often use their time, talent and resources to help nonprofits that:
- Promote a healthy lifestyle
- Fight hunger
- Help families, youth and seniors
- Better our communities
Blue Cross honors employees' volunteer efforts through Heart of Blue
This includes:
- Volunteer Paid Time Off, giving employees the flexibility of volunteering during the work day, up to 20 hours per year.
- A reward giving back their personal time. Through the "Dollars for Doers" program, Blue Cross gives $250 to an eligible nonprofit recognizing any employee that gives 40 or more hours of their personal time in a calendar year to that organization.
- Team building through volunteering. Each year three employee teams who create and carry out a volunteer project earn a $500 gift to the nonprofit they supported.
Employee-driven innovation
Giving Gardens
Blue Cross helps our “intrapreneurs” (employees who act as entrepreneurs within the company) come up with new ways to give back to our communities. That's how Blue Cross' Community Giving Garden, a garden on the Blue Cross campus that grows fresh vegetables for our community, came to fruition.
This idea led to a group of 18 (and counting!) company gardens in Minnesota. In 2013, the network was given the Corporate Volunteerism Council - Twin Cities' Innovation Award.
See how you can start a giving garden (PDF)
Teaching Giving Garden: A partnership with the St. Paul Midway YMCA
Blue Cross expanded the community giving garden through a partnership with the St. Paul Midway YMCA that started in 2013.
At the Teaching Giving Garden, Blue Cross volunteers help kids at the St. Paul Midway YMCA learn to grow and harvest fresh vegetables to bring home to their families. This is very valuable because 90% of the youth in this program live in poverty and challenging circumstances.
We've captured an overview of all our company and employees have given back in our Community Report.