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Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Employees Adopt 54 Families, and an Overseas Platoon for the Holidays

Posted on: Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 08:55 CST

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield associates in Maine have adopted 54 area families and an overseas military platoon for the holidays. The families were provided a full complement of holiday gifts and food certificates. The armed forces personnel were provided games, playing cards, snacks, writing paper, and envelopes and other gifts -- items that had been recommended as useful and non-perishable.

Anthem associates raised $10,500 throughout the year and worked with The Salvation Army locally to identify and adopt specific families in the Greater Portland area in need of help this holiday season. Several families identified are from the Bangor area where Anthem associates there raised funds as well.

"Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield associates have really stepped up again this year to aid needy families," said Salvation Army's Captain Terry Shaffer. "Anthem associates' generous support is critical to help us meet the needs of so many local families in this challenging year."

This year's holiday Adopt-a-Family project supplied gifts ranging from toys and clothes to comforters and sports equipment on a family-specific basis. Anthem even provides wrapping paper in the large boxes containing a specific family's gifts so the family can participate in the wrapping of presents. Also included are food certificates for all the ingredients for a holiday meal.

"This is a year-round effort by our associates to make the holidays special for local families," said Anthem President Dan Corcoran. "The Adopt-a-Family project is a very special effort highlighting one of the ways we give back to our local Maine communities." Corcoran said that departments or groups of associates are given a family-specific list of needs and then go shopping using the funds raised.

"Our motto for this project is 'providing hope through caring and sharing,'" said Bob Dow, the project's chair over the past four years.

Anthem worked with Salvation Army branches in South Portland, Biddeford/Old Orchard, Westbrook and in Bangor on this year's Adopt-a-Family project.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield associates have been participating and sponsoring families during the holiday season for more than 15 years.

Earlier this fall, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield associates pledged more than $185,000 through their annual Associate Giving Campaign to 212 non-profit organizations. In addition, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation matched fifty percent of associates' pledges, increasing the total raised by associates to $277,500.

SOURCE Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Maine

Source: PR Newswire

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