GPCVC Member and Civic 50 Honoree AmeriHealth Caritas:

Describe the main initiative(s) of your CSR program:

The AmeriHealth Caritas Corporate Community Investment team helps connect the work of 7,200 employees with nearly 5 million members nationally and in local communities. Through AmeriHealth Caritas’ Care Crew volunteering and United Way fundraising, employees put care into their work to help others. The Care Crew employee volunteer program is a component of the company’s annual operating plan goal for measuring success and holds a 10% weight. AmeriHealth Caritas partners with nonprofits nationally, including mentorship programs, charity walks, and organizations that are aligned with the company’s efforts to address social determinants of health. To date, close to $4 million has been pledged through the annual United Way campaign. AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership, AmeriHealth Caritas’ corporate foundation, was created in 2011 to help expand health education programs to families across the country. In 2020, AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership hosted twenty-two virtual health education events connecting to underserved communities across the nation.

What are some of the key learning you gained, through participation in the Civic 50 Greater Philadelphia?

• The CIVIC 50 Greater Philadelphia survey validated AmeriHealth Caritas’ efforts to continue building a strong social responsibility program in Philadelphia and in the markets throughout the country where our members live and work. The company is committed to helping people get care, stay well, and build healthy communities. The global pandemic created an opportunity to be stronger and more nimble in connecting employees nationally to local efforts through virtual organizing.
• AmeriHealth Caritas has added more than 800 employees in the last three years and has entered into two new markets. As the country emerges from the pandemic, we continue to see a high prevalence of social determinants of health needs in areas of food security, housing, and access to care. AmeriHealth Caritas continues to work with more than 1,200 community partners to address needs in underserved communities. From the beginning, we’ve been guided by one philosophy: To help people get care, stay well, and build healthy communities. Our mission, vision, and grassroots outreach drive our success.
• At AmeriHealth Caritas, Care Is the Heart of Our Work®. That means that every day we put our members and their families first. We work to improve not only their health, but also the economic and social issues that affect them.

Americans have experienced financial setbacks due to job loss or declining household income as a result of the pandemic. Hardships were experienced by many, yet our colleagues’ commitment to giving back to their communities proved even more evident. In 2020, AmeriHealth Caritas’ United Way campaign not only exceeded its financial goal, but leadership participation rose by more than 11% and overall the campaign reported increased contributions and participation. Care Crew reported 50.2% goal participation and 42,354 total volunteer hours. That’s over $1 million in volunteer hours.

What would you share with a company that is debating whether to take the Civic 50 Greater Philadelphia next year?

Opportunities to measure your programs should always be welcomed. The Civic 50 engagement provided an opportunity for AmeriHealth Caritas to join a fellowship of mission-driven organizations. Through these connections, we collectively gained resources and knowledge to help us better serve vulnerable communities. We believe creating opportunities to have conversations can be a powerful first step in achieving our mission of helping people get care, stay well, and build healthy communities.