Boston Scientific employees around the world will help make the holidays cheerier for families that otherwise may not be able to celebrate the holidays. During the holiday season, Boston Scientific employees will spend many hours volunteering time, collecting and donating warm clothing, food or toys, and sponsoring local families for the holidays. Below are a few examples of activities our employees are supporting in 2011.
Highlights of 2011 Activities
Thanksgiving in Massachusetts
In mid-November, Boston Scientific’s three Massachusetts facilities celebrated Thanksgiving early by hosting all-employee lunches. Donations were collected at the door to support two local charities. The funds collected at the Quincy and Natick facilities were donated to the Greater Boston Food Bank. The funds collected at the Marlborough facility were donated to the Mayor's Charity Relief Fund of Marlborough.
Greater Boston Food Bank
The Greater Boston Food Bank distributes almost 35 Million pounds of food, enough to provide healthy meals to as many as 545,000 people at risk of hunger across Massachusetts. In November, employees of Boston Scientific's Marlborough, Natick and Quincy facilities donate funds and food items to the Greater Boston Food Bank. They are a trusted and efficient resource for local food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless and residential shelters, youth programs, senior centers, and day-care centers, providing the food needed to feed the hungry.
Ralph Reeder Food Shelf
The Ralph Reeder Food Shelf is a Community Education Program of the Mounds View, Minnesota Public School District offering emergency and supplemental food assistance, school supplies, and holiday help to low income residents in their community.
Operation Joy is a program of the Ralph Reeder Food Shelf that distributes toys and gifts to families in need. Teams of volunteers will help distribute toys and gifts. This year, Ralph Reeder expects to provide toys and gifts for over 700 children. Each family also receives a $25.00 grocery store gift certificate.
Boston Scientific employees have donated non-perishable food items, personal hygiene items and cleaning supplies, toys and cash donations in support of the program.
Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes
Our Minnesota employees are once again participating in The Holiday Mail for Heroes program, which allows employees, families and communities around the US to write cards to send holiday cards to our American service members, their families, and veterans all over the world.
Each year the American Red Cross provides assistance to over 2 million service members and many of our nation’s 24 million veterans. At the core of the Service to the Armed Forces mission is the commitment of the Red Cross to support military families, military and veterans hospitals and provide emergency communications across the globe.
Cradles to Crayons: Gearing Up For Winter
Founded in 2002, Cradles to Crayons is an innovative Quincy, Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization that equips homeless and in-need children with the basic essentials they need to feel safe, warm, ready to learn, and be valued. Approximately 305,000 children ages 0-12 are living in poor or low-income households in Massachusetts and may go without coats, clothing and footwear this year if not for the work of Cradles to Crayons.
Boston Scientific’s Massachusetts-based employees are donating new children’s winter coats, winter boots, hats, gloves, mittens, and scarves to Cradles to Crayons.
Chain of Hope
Since 1995, Chain of Hope has been working with leading cardiac referral centers in the UK to treat children from war-torn and developing countries who would otherwise find it almost impossible to receive the treatment they need. Chain of hope also conducts teaching and training missions at the cardiac units that it supports around the world, which treat children suffering from life-threatening heart diseases and to provide onsite expertise and teaching for local cardiac teams. Employees in Belgium participate in various fundraising activities for Chain of Hope at this time of the year.
Giving Tree
The Giving Tree is a project run by the Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) in Cork, Ireland, which collects new toys for children in need. The SVP guarantees that the gifts will be delivered to those who most need them before Christmas, bringing the joy of the festive season to families that would otherwise go without. Boston Scientific employees will donate presents, which will be collected by SVP in time for Santa’s rounds.
Christmas Choir in Aid of Simon Communities of Ireland
The Annual Boston Scientific Christmas Choir in aid of the Simon Community consists of Cork, Ireland employee volunteers who sing in the canteen on the day of the Christmas Lunch, and employees donate whatever they can afford as they enter and leave the canteen. Simon Communities support homeless men and women in Cork.
Sponsor a Family Programs
The Massachusetts facilities of Boston Scientific will be partnering with the Department of Social Services of Framingham, Massachusetts again this year, to provide gifts to 45 area families in need. Each participating team will buy and wrap gifts that will be donated to a local family, and help make their holiday wishes come true.
During our Season of Giving, Boston Scientific facilities in Minnesota will once again be partnering with Episcopal Community Services (ECS) in Minneapolis to sponsor local families and help make their holiday season a little brighter. In 2010, between our Minnesota sites, more than 86 families were adopted, over $14,000 in gift cards, and truckloads full of wonderful household, clothing and gift items were collected.
