Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Recognized as One of the 50 Most Community-Minded Companies in the United States

BATON ROUGE, La. – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana has been named an honoree of The Civic 50 by Points of Light, the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service.

The award recognizes Blue Cross as one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States. The Civic 50 provides a national standard for superior corporate citizenship and showcases how companies can use their time, skills and resources to impact their communities.

“We are honored to receive this national recognition for the commitment our company and employees show to our communities through volunteerism and corporate philanthropy,” said Dr. Steven Udvarhelyi, president and CEO of Blue Cross. “But the real honor is knowing the work we do is helping to fulfill our mission: improving the health and lives of Louisianians.  We are always striving to make a positive difference.”

The Civic 50 honorees will be formally announced tonight at the Points of Light Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota where corporate citizenship leaders from across the country gather to discuss social innovation, civic engagement and cross-sector collaboration. 

“The Civic 50 truly highlights the commitment of community and civic engagement of America’s leading brands,” said Natalye Paquin, president and CEO, Points of Light. “The business community plays an important role in creating and delivering innovative solutions that drive social good in the communities where they live and work. Companies like Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana are powerful examples of how companies can build and sustain purpose in their brands.”

The Civic 50 honorees are public and private companies with U.S. operations and revenues of $1 billion or more. Each is selected based on four dimensions of their U.S. community engagement program including investment, integration, institutionalization and impact.

“Community service is directly tied to our mission, and is lived daily by our 2,500 employees across the state. For example, Blue Cross employees volunteer more than 24,000 hours annually and are engaged with more than 300 nonprofits through serving on boards and sponsored events,” said Michael Tipton, Blue Cross Foundation president and head of Community Relations. “The company and foundation also contribute millions of dollars in community grants and sponsorships across the state.”

In this video (1:56), Tipton announces the recognition and shares Blue Cross’ story. 

The Civic 50 survey was administered by True Impact, a company specializing in helping organizations maximize and measure their social and business value. The survey instrument consists of quantitative and multiple-choice questions that inform The Civic 50 scoring process. The Civic 50 is the only survey and ranking system that exclusively measures corporate involvement in communities.

To learn more about The Civic 50, the 2019 honorees and insights from this year’s survey, please visit www.Civic50.org.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is committed to our mission to improve the health and lives of Louisianians. We invest both time and money in the communities we serve, supporting the health and wellbeing of Louisianians through more than 200 charitable organizations.

With our subsidiaries, HMO Louisiana and Southern National Life, we provide group and individual health insurance plans, life and disability insurance, group voluntary products and administrative services to one out of four Louisiana residents. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana also provides Medicare supplement and Medicare Advantage plans and is a partner in offering the Healthy Blue Medicaid Managed care plan. Louisiana is the only state where we operate, with offices in every major region to serve our customers.

Founded in New Orleans in 1934, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is a tax-paying non-profit health insurer. We are a private mutual company, owned by our policyholders, with an independent Louisiana Board of Directors and no shareholders. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

To learn more, visit our website at www.bcbsla.com. 

About Points of Light
Points of Light – the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service – mobilizes millions of people to take action that is changing the world. Through affiliates in 250 cities across 37 countries and in partnership with thousands of nonprofits and corporations, Points of Light engages 5 million volunteers in 20 million hours of service each year. We bring the power of people to bear where it’s needed most. For more information, go to www.pointsoflight.org.