Blue Cross launches company-wide day of community service

By Richard Asinof
Contributing Writer
Twitter: @RichardAsinof

PROVIDENCE – More than 750 of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island’s nearly 1,000 employees went to work Thursday as volunteers at more than 20 community agencies across Rhode Island.

The effort, called “Blue across Rhode Island,” is a new way to connect the health insurer to the community, according to Blue Cross President and CEO Peter Andruszkiewicz.

“As a local nonprofit organization, Blue Cross strives to be a good steward of the resources entrusted to us,” he said, adding that Thursday’s activities “further demonstrates our commitment to the community, which has always been at the heart of our corporate culture.”

Andruszkiewicz spent the morning at the Highlander Charter School in Providence where he helped staff a health fair for students and teachers.

Other Blue across Rhode Island project sites, focused on health care and health-care related services, included:

• Boys & Girls Club of East Providence, 115 Williams Ave., East Providence

• Clinica Esperanza / Hope Clinic, 60 Valley St., Providence

• Crossroads Rhode Island, Kingstown Crossing Apartments, 40 Navy Drive, North Kingstown

• Farm Fresh RI, Confreda Farm, 2150 Scituate Ave., Hope

• Jonnycake Center of Peace Dale, 1231 Kingstown Rd., South Kingstown

• Progreso Latino, 626 Broad St., Central Falls

• Rhode Island Free Clinic, 655 Broad Street, Providence

• Shape Up RI, Calcutt Middle School, 112 Washington St., Central Falls

• Thundermist Health Center, 186 Providence St., West Warwick

• Tri-town Community Action, 33 Maple Ave., North Providence

In addition, volunteers also helped to assemble “Well Kid Kits” to be distributed to 2,500 Rhode Island middle school students at 17 after-school programs across the state.

Andruszkiewicz called the day of service the largest ever done in Rhode Island by a single company. “It’s part of our culture at Blue Cross,” he said. “Our employees really do care about the community.”