Volunteer Efforts

The Blue Corps volunteer program launched in April 2008 to consolidate four separate volunteer programs across our enterprise; the program was developed using the best practices from each Plan. As such, Blue Corps provides consistent policies, procedures, fundraising guidelines, reporting, communications and community partner approval.

Additionally, the program boasts an employee recognition program, ongoing training for volunteer coordinators and event managers, a matching dollars program and a volunteer of the year award.

Blue Corps is managed at the state (or Plan) level, with oversight, reporting and program growth managed by the corporate community involvement manager.

Through our Blue Corps system (powered by AngelPoints), employees can sign up for volunteer events in their communities, log their hours and connect with other employee volunteers. The system is also used for reporting metrics. The data is used to track our employee recognition program, the volunteer of the year program and our matching dollars program.

For the matching dollars program, contributions are recorded and managed through MicroEdge Gifts by the Plans, with oversight from the corporate gifts system manager.

Since Blue Corps launched in 2008, community spirit has grown year after year across our enterprise. In 2010, 1,410 employees volunteered 22,638 hours with 331 nonprofit organizations which equates to $483,547 in community value impact. This value is according to the Independent Sector  which estimates that each volunteer hour is valued at $21.36 in 2010.

Employee volunteerism is at the heart of our community outreach efforts and exemplifies our reputation as a "company who cares." To recognize the importance of employee volunteerism, we developed the Blue Corps Volunteer of the Year award. Patricia Hemingway Hall, HCSC president and CEO, selects one overall HCSC award recipient, and then each plan president chooses one award recipient in their state.

HCSC Richard Gutierrez, a technical specialist in the information technology group. Richard has supported the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) Care Van Program for the past four years by devoting more than 700 hours serving as a translator for Spanish-speaking attendees at immunization clinics.

Illinois LaTaysha, a senior project manager in the enterprise program and project office, has been volunteering more than 15 years in the Chicago community supporting nonprofit organizations such as the Order of the Eastern Star, Human Needs Center and Union District Women’s Department.

New Mexico Penny Howard, a supervisor in marketing operations support, has served annually as team captain for the Albuquerque breast cancer walk and in leadership roles for Operation Back to School, the Adopt a Family program and many other company outreach efforts. Penny also has been very involved with the Cystic Fibrosis Association.

Oklahoma Gale Poindexter, a care coordinator in health care management, has been a member and leader in many veterans' organizations, such as TAPS, the Gold Star Mothers of Oklahoma and the Blue Star Mothers of Oklahoma. She has given her time and money to help ensure that those who have lost a family member while they were serving our country were both comforted and supported.

Texas An executive administrative assistant, Julie Klutts has supported the Texas Care Van program, her church and Lone Star CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) — an organization that consists of court-appointed special advocates who help ensure that neglected children are placed in safe homes. Julie also was named CASA Volunteer of the Year in 2009.

For every verified volunteer hour an HCSC employee spends with a community partner, HCSC contributes $20 per hour to the designated organization, up to a total annual contribution of $2,000.

So far, our matching dollars have resulted in the following:

The following criteria must be met to qualify for matching dollars:

• 501(c)(3) tax status from the IRS
• Employee volunteers cannot receive any monetary benefit in exchange for volunteer services
• Only employee volunteer time is eligible; family hours are not
• Reimbursement cannot be provided to the participant in exchange for volunteer services
• HCSC and Plan employees and/or their families cannot solely or directly benefit from the grant
• Volunteer service must actually be completed; a pledge to complete volunteer service at a later date does not qualify
• Volunteer activities at religious institutions, places of worship, missionary groups or funds do not qualify for a match unless the volunteering activity is part of a program that is secular in nature and benefits a broad range of the community (for example, homeless shelters and soup kitchens). The program must have a formal, secular mission statement, and its budget and staff must be separate from any affiliated religious institution. Additionally, the grant must be designated to the 501(c)(3) secular program.

Community partner relationships are a vital element in achieving our mission; as such, HCSC supports a diverse representation of community organizations.

As of December 2010, there are 387 Blue Corps community partners:

• Illinois — 115 community partners
• New Mexico — 25 community partners
• Oklahoma — 47 community partners
• Texas — 200 community partners

To qualify as a Blue Corps community partner, a nonprofit organization must meet all of the following criteria:

• 501(c)3 status from the IRS
• Physical presence in at least one of our four states of operation (IL, NM, OK, TX)
• Provide direct health or health-related human services that positively and directly impact the community at large
• Focus on improving the health and wellness of our local communities (services must be rendered and received in at least one of our four states of operation)

Ineligibility

• Organizations that are strictly fundraising/grant-making bodies
• Organizations that discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, national origin, sexual orientation or disability statuses
• Labor unions, fraternal or veterans’ organizations
• Political organizations or lobbying activities
• Chamber of Commerce, trade or business associations
• Universities and schools (including Title I)
• Religious institutions or any organization that engages in religious instruction or proselytizing
• Any organization that can be seen to put BCBSIL, BCBSNM, BCBSOK or BCBSTX into a position of perceived or actual conflict of interest

Organizations interested in becoming a community partner must fill out an application, and then fax to the appropriate contact (listed on the application).

For more information, please contact Olivia Rogers, HCSC community relations manager, at 800-735-2989.