Citizens Renews Partnership With Feeding America to Fight Hunger

by Posted in Basic Need, Corporate Citizenship, Employee Engagement, Health and Wellness, Member Highlights, Member News

For the fifth consecutive year, Citizens has joined forces with Feeding America®, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, contributing more than $1 million as a Leadership-level partner to further broaden and deepen its efforts to help fight hunger.

The renewed relationship builds on a successful four-year partnership which has brought funding into local markets and seeded Feeding America’s Ending Hunger program. This year’s funding is primarily categorized as equitable access grants, which aim to increase access to nutritious food among households with individuals who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) residing in communities experiencing high food insecurity rates.

In 2021, through the Citizens Helping Citizens Fight Hunger initiative, the bank helped provide 16.3 million meals* via its partnership with Feeding America and other local hunger relief organizations. Citizens colleagues volunteered nearly 90,000 hours to help combat hunger in communities across the bank’s enterprise.

As part of Hunger Action Month, Citizens colleagues will display their commitment to fighting hunger by participating in Citizens’ Step Up to Fight Hunger challenge in which colleagues’ healthy activities and steps are translated into meals to support local communities.

Additionally, throughout the month of September, Citizens will host a virtual food drive supporting Feeding America. Each dollar donated will provide 10 meals in communities served by the bank and Citizens will match each dollar donated up to $20,000.

Get more information about Citizens community initiatives here.

*$1 helps Feeding America provide at least 10 meals through local member food banks.

Point32Health Employees Invest Over 3,000 Hours of Service in Volunteer Week

by Posted in Basic Need, Children & Youth, Corporate Citizenship, Employee Engagement, Member Highlights, Member News, Uncategorized

During the week of June 13, Point32Health – the combined organization of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan – held its second annual Volunteer Week. Volunteering is at the core of Point32Health’s values, shaping our culture and impacting community health.

More than 1,250 colleagues volunteered 3,300 total hours at 57 projects benefiting 49 nonprofit organizations across five states. Employees served a range of organizations working to address food security, clean up parks, tend to community farms, support people experiencing homelessness and so much more – all to create healthy, thriving communities.

In Rhode Island, Point32Health volunteers packed Meals4Kids and supplemental nutrition boxes for older people served by the Rhode Island Community Food Bank (photo).

BankNewport 2021 Philanthropic Efforts Resulted in Over $1.2 Million Awarded to Over 350 RI Nonprofits

by Posted in Arts & Culture, Basic Need, Children & Youth, Climate/Environment, Employee Engagement, Health and Wellness, Member Highlights, Member News, Philanthropy, Uncategorized

BankNewport announced that its 2021 philanthropic efforts resulted in over $1.2 million awarded to over 350 nonprofits in Rhode Island. The donations include all grants, sponsorships, community contributions from local branches, and year-end proactive and holiday support totaling $74,000 to nonprofits that meet basic needs for the underserved throughout Rhode Island.

Organizations in every county of Rhode Island benefitted from the giving effort, with areas of impact focused on basic human needs, children & families, education, economic security, healthy living, arts and culture and the environment. Over the past 11 years, BankNewport has awarded $7 million in grants, sponsorships, and donations to a wide range of nonprofits to help strengthen and enrich lives and communities throughout the state.

Financial education and community involvement by Bank employees in 2021 totaled over 7,300 hours. Through BNWise, BankNewport’s financial education program, over 2,500 students and community members were engaged in interactive financial education presentations on a variety of topics, from saving and budgeting to credit and entrepreneurship, which were made available in-person and virtually.

BankNewport also presented two high profile campaigns generating statewide awareness of food insecurity and for those organizations serving Rhode Island’s homeless population: Kind Souls Full Bowls benefitted the with a $50,000 Bank gift and over $7,500 raised from the community, and Kind Heart Fresh Start collected over 4,700 personal care items impacting more than 1,000 individuals in need with a $50,000 Bank gift and over $7,500 raised from the community, and Kind Heart Fresh Start collected over 4,700 personal care items impacting more than 1,000 individuals in need.

 

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island Announces Blue Angel Community Partners

by Posted in Aging, Arts & Culture, Basic Need, Children & Youth, Community Development, Corporate Citizenship, Education, Employee Engagement, Health and Wellness, Housing and Homelessness, Member Highlights, Member News, Philanthropy

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) announced the 13 community partners for its tenth annual day of service this fall 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.

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, Amenity Aid, Boys & Girls Club of Northern Rhode Island, Children’s Friend, Gotta Have Sole Foundation, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Providence, South County Habitat for Humanity, Happy Hope Foundation, Hope Alzheimer’s Center, NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley, Partnership for Providence Parks, Recs & Streetscapes, Playworks New England, Riverzedge Arts. 

Centreville Bank Foundation 2020 Giving Tops $1 Million

by Posted in Basic Need, Children & Youth, Community Development, Corporate Citizenship, Education, Employee Engagement, Immigrants and Refugees, Member Highlights, Member News, Philanthropy

With its fourth quarter grant round of $113,861, the Centreville Bank Charitable Foundation awarded a total of $1,063,861 in grants for 2020, the largest annual giving amount in bank history.

“There is a critical need for financial support for many charitable organizations throughout Rhode Island and Connecticut, particularly as the pandemic continues, said Horvat. “We are fortunate to be in a financial position to support them as they help the most vulnerable populations with everything from health care, food, shelter and other basic needs, to education and literacy.”

The latest grants to 15 organizations in Rhode Island and Connecticut, included Beautiful Day, Community Preparatory School, Coventry Housing Associates Corporation, Cranston Public Library, Day One, Friends of CASA, House of Hope, Reach Out and Read Rhode Island and United Way of Rhode Island.

 

Bank Newport Responds to COVID-19 with Donations and Volunteerism

by Posted in Basic Need, Corporate Citizenship, Disaster Philanthropy, Employee Engagement, Health and Wellness, Member Highlights, Member News, Philanthropy

Earlier this year, before the onset of COVID-19, 35 employee volunteers from BankNewport and its sister agency, OceanPoint Insurance, participated in a meal-packaging project with the United Way of Rhode Island. In just two hours, the team packaged 12,000 meals for local food pantries, including FabNewport, the MLK Community Center, East Bay Community Action Program, and We Share Hope, a contribution that unknowingly would fill an immediate need.

As the pandemic grew, the Bank’s Community Fund Committee redirected its grant funds to extend immediate financial support with grants totaling $250,000 to the Rhode Island Foundation and United Way of Rhode Island COVID-19 Response Fund, and most recently a $100,000 grant to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. In addition, more than $78,000 in sponsorship funds earmarked for nonprofit fundraising events were released to help meet their immediate needs. OceanPoint Insurance also contributed $2,500 to the COVID-19 Response Fund at the United Way during 401 Gives Day.

In addition to its ongoing community support, BankNewport has been working around the clock to fulfill loan requests for small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program, as well as an emergency micro loan program in partnership with Rhode Island Commerce, the Rhode Island Hospitality Association, and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation.  Through these programs to date, BankNewport has awarded a total of $101.5 million in loans to approximately 1,200 small businesses in Rhode Island, including restaurants, retailers, and sole proprietors.  The Bank has also waived fees as part of its customer assistance program.

Tufts Health Plan Employee Groups Provide Grants for COVID-19 Response

by Posted in Basic Need, Corporate Citizenship, Employee Engagement, Housing and Homelessness, Member Highlights, Member News, Philanthropy

Five New England community organizations received $10,000 grants to help address the COVID-19 pandemic from Tufts Health Plan Foundation through a program engaging Tufts Health Plan employees in grantmaking.

These grants were made through a program involving Tufts Health Plan’s five business resource groups (BRGs). Each BRG recommended an organization aligned with its affinity to receive a grant from the Foundation. The Foundation doubled the funding available for this year’s grants, recognizing community organizations need additional resources as they find new ways to deliver services and supports while addressing an increase in demand during the coronavirus pandemic. Prism, the LGBTQ and allies BRG selected Crossroads Rhode Island for a grant for their programming to secure stable homes for people who are experiencing homelessness or at-risk, including youth who identify as LGBTQ+.   More information

Collette Hosts New Pawtucket/Central Falls COVID-19 Outreach

by Posted in Disaster Philanthropy, Employee Engagement, Health and Wellness, Immigrants and Refugees, Member Highlights, Member News, Philanthropy, Uncategorized

GCRI member Collette has announced that it will serve as a partner and section leader of the CFP BEAT COVID-19 initiative. Colette will be contributing to the leadership of the CFP BEAT COVID-19 incident command team, providing the entire enterprise with logistical support, including information management services and phone banking.

“We are proud to support the efforts of both the City of Pawtucket and Central Falls,” said Mike Vendetti, Director of Property Safety and Security at Collette. “We know that this is such an important task to benefit the community as a whole.”

The CFP BEAT COVID-19 initiative has committed itself to reach out to every single household in the two cities, so that every resident in the cities knows what to do and who to call the moment they get sick due to the exponentially growing numbers of positive cases.

“We are deeply grateful for the resources and workforce that Collette and the Sullivan family have committed to this effort. There is no better corporate citizen anywhere,” said Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien. “We estimate that nearly 50,000 people in Pawtucket and Central Falls do not have a primary health care doctor. Collette’s invaluable assistance will help us reach out to every single household in our two cities”

“Roughly 45% of the Covid-19 positive tests are Latino, and Central Falls and Pawtucket cases continue to increase exponentially,” said Central Falls Mayor James A. Diossa. “Bringing an organization like Collette has come to our rescue, in a way that we hope will allow us to reduce the spread of Covid-19 in our communities.”

“People are positive at a very high rate in Pawtucket and Central Falls,” said Michael Fine, M.D, Medical Director of CFP BEAT COVID-19 initiative. “At Blackstone Valley Community Health Care, Central Falls and Pawtucket residents are testing at 36% and 33% Covid-19 positive respectively. This is nearly three times the state average rate. Our communities are a likely hotspot.  We are very grateful to Colette Travel so we can together make sure that people are getting tested and isolating accordingly when sick.”

As part of the CFP BEAT COVID-19 initiative, the Mayors and Care New England have announced a Coronavirus testing site that has more than triple the capacity of existing test sites in the Blackstone Valley as a first step. The team is now working on the next step to combat Covid-19, aiming to create a telephone consultation service for people in our cities who do not have primary care physicians.

Tufts Health Plan Foundation Announces Second Wave of Funding to Address Coronavirus Impact

by Posted in Aging, Corporate Citizenship, Disaster Philanthropy, Employee Engagement, Health and Wellness, Housing and Homelessness, Member Highlights, Member News, Philanthropy

Tufts Health Plan Foundation announced funding to 18 additional nonprofit organizations as part of the $1 million it has committed to support community efforts on behalf of older people affected by the coronavirus. This second wave of funding, totaling $345,000, focuses on housing and equity efforts in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut.

The organizations include housing providers, those working with people experiencing homelessness and immigrant communities, and several serving as hubs for collaborative regional responses.

In Rhode Island, grantees in the current wave of funding were House of Hope Community Development Corporation and Saint Elizabeth Community.

The Foundation also is accelerating payments to current grantees, easing the financial pressure they are facing. These payments will give community organizations an additional $1.5 million to support emerging priorities.

“As the coronavirus spreads throughout our region, it is clear communities of color and organizations serving older people are disproportionately affected,” said Nora Moreno Cargie, president of Tufts Health Plan Foundation and vice president for corporate citizenship at Tufts Health Plan. “Organizations working with those most at risk are a priority for the Foundation. More resources are essential to help all our communities face this public health crisis.”

The Foundation continues to offer a two-for-one match to Tufts Health Plan employees and board members who donate to organizations during the pandemic. To date, an additional $55,000 has been contributed to community organizations through this program.

CVS Health Charity Classic Unveils $1 Million Donation

by Posted in Children & Youth, Community Development, Employee Engagement, Health and Wellness, Member Highlights, Member News, Member Sponsored Events, Philanthropy

2019 Charity Classic Support Brings Total Amount Donated to More Than $23 Million

CVS Health President and CEO, Larry Merlo and PGA TOUR Champions and CVS Health Charity Classic Co-hosts Brad Faxon and Billy Andrade announced that the 2019 CVS Health Charity Classic generated $1 million for Southern New England charities. This brings the total amount donated over the last 21 years to more than $23 million.

“Over the past 21 years, the Charity Classic has had the pleasure of connecting with organizations that are making a significant impact in the communities that we live and work in,” said Eileen Howard Boone, Tournament Chairperson of the CVS Health Charity Classic. “We are so honored to celebrate another charitable milestone with CVS Health colleagues, charity partners, Charity Classic sponsors and event volunteers.”

The 2019 CVS Health Charity Classic featured some of the world’s top professional golfers including Brooke Henderson, Colin Montgomerie and Keegan Bradley. The Event Series also attracted sold out crowds to Dunkin’ Donuts Center for Crave RI. The two-day food festival displayed Rhode Island’s diverse culinary scene with more than 250 local restaurants & beverage profiles in downtown Providence.

Looking ahead, CVS Health announced the date for the 2020 CVS Health Charity Classic. The Event Series will take place Thursday, June 18 through Monday, June 22.

The mission of the CVS Health Charity Classic is to give back to the community and provide assistance to charitable organizations that focus on helping the community year-round. Donations provided by the 2019 CVS Health Charity Classic provide vital funding to a range of programs serving children and families. In all, 86 non-profit organizations across Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts will benefit this year from the CVS Health Charity Classic, including:

• Sojourner House whose mission is to promote healthy relationships by providing culturally sensitive support, advocacy, and education for victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence; and to effect systems change.
• Tides Family Services that addresses the needs of at-risk children through services such as counseling and educational and court advocacy.
• The Joe Andruzzi Foundation that is committed to providing help, hope, and a reason to smile, for New England cancer patients and their families by contributing financial support when it is needed most.