At Sedgwick, our approach to community involvement has always been to support our colleagues in supporting causes about which they are passionate and that reflect the needs of the local areas in which we operate. This week marked the culmination of two important community service projects undertaken by our colleagues.
Sedgwick embarked last fall on an exciting companywide community engagement effort called Voice in the Community. We partnered with a cause-based clothing company and purchased custom-designed Voice in the Community t-shirts. Our 12,000 colleagues had the opportunity to buy a shirt, and each colleague got to choose where to direct the money from their purchase: to their office activity committee to support local community service projects, or to one of three national charities. Additionally, for each Voice in the Community t-shirt sold, our vendor donated a school uniform shirt to a student in an under-resourced area.
In total, our generous colleagues raised almost $44,000! Thanks to the efforts of our activity committees, more than $9,500 was distributed to non-profits throughout the U.S. We also raised nearly $6,000 for Feeding America, more than $6,200 for Toys for Tots and nearly $22,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. With 100% of funds collected through the t-shirt sales going directly to charity, this initiative has truly been a win-win.
Building on the momentum of our Voice in the Community initiative, in December we held our 2014 holiday card campaign, which was devoted to brightening the lives of the brave children of St. Jude. We invited our colleagues, clients, vendors and friends to “embrace their inner child” and share photos reflecting the joys of childhood and the holiday season. Sedgwick committed to making a donation to St. Jude, up to $50,000, for each photo uploaded. We received nearly 250 photos and more than 1,750 views of our submission page and smile gallery. Our #sedgwicksmiles4stjude campaign helped to raise awareness about the life-saving work of St. Jude and brought smiles to the faces of all who participated.
This week, we had the unique opportunity to visit St. Jude – located not far from our corporate headquarters in Memphis, Tenn. – and present a check to the hospital for more than $70,000. That donation includes Sedgwick’s holiday campaign gift and the monies raised by our colleagues through Voice in the Community. Our Most Valued Performer honorees joined members of our executive team at St. Jude for the check presentation, a tour of the magnificent campus and packing food bags for the families of children being treated there. It means so much to us to be part of St. Jude’s groundbreaking work to eradicate childhood cancers and other life-threatening diseases.
Our generous colleagues and committed clients, vendors and friends have helped us ensure that Sedgwick’s voice in the community remains loud and strong. Let us know what your organization is doing to promote community involvement.
Terri Browne, Chief People Officer