Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana employees and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation have pledged $192,078.82 to the Capital Area United Way’s 2007-2008 workplace giving campaign.
“We would like to thank Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana for your generous support,” said Howard Taylor, President and CEO of Capital Area United Way. “Through your creative campaign and fundraising events, and your employees’ dedication to helping our community, we can truly make a difference.”
Taylor added, “I would also like to thank the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation for their generous matching contribution. Thank you for scoring a touchdown for Capital Area United Way and our community!”
Through personal contributions and fundraisers, the company’s approximately 1,400 Baton Rouge-area employees pledged $95,299.41. The Foundation matched employees’ pledges dollar-for-dollar and added a dollar for each pound lost in an in-house weight-loss challenge for a total of $96,779.41.
“We are proud to celebrate this remarkable accomplishment,” said Christy Reeves, director of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation. “The thousands of dollars raised during this campaign make it possible for United Way to bring about long-lasting, positive change in our community. It’s exciting to see Blue Cross and its employees respond to this challenge by giving so generously.”
Employees at the company’s headquarters in Baton Rouge participated in a five-week pledge drive with the slogan “Blue & U: Together, We Matter.” The football-themed campaign included a kickoff pep rally, weekly “huddles” to learn more about Capital Area United Way member agencies and a post-game results show. The highlight of the campaign was a live auction in which employees could “draft” members of Blue Cross senior management to work for them for a half day.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is Louisiana-owned and -operated. Marking its 73rd anniversary this year, the company is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. It is a tax-paying mutual company, owned by its policyholders. Headquartered in Baton Rouge, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana also has district offices in Alexandria, Houma, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, New Orleans and Shreveport. The company’s subsidiaries include HMO Louisiana, Inc. and Southern National Life Insurance Company, Inc.