Connecting to Communities and Teams Through Volunteerism

On a December morning, Rahul Patel offered bags of plums, onions and potatoes to people as they made their way through the food pantry in the chilly loading dock of A Safe Haven Foundation.

The nonprofit's clients, bundled head to toe, filled baskets and carts to feed themselves and their families for the week. For more than a decade, groups of employees from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, including Patel and his team, have volunteered with A Safe Haven to help serve thousands of Chicagoans in need of food, housing and employment.

"We are fortunate to be where we're at," says Patel, a 24-year BCBSIL veteran and sales vice president. "Volunteerism helps us connect personally with our communities and it helps us get to know each other as a team."

After joining BCBSIL 14 years ago, Shelley Long saw an opportunity to build a more robust corporate volunteerism program to support the community and provide employees with meaningful ways to help people and feel pride in their workplace.

As a community relations manager, Long establishes relationships with nonprofits like A Safe Haven in Chicago's Douglas Park neighborhood, which offer non-medical services that address social drivers affecting health outcomes, including stable housing, workforce development, behavioral health support and food access.

"A Safe Haven provides wraparound services and resources to help people get back on their feet," says Long, a member of the organization's board of directors. "It is one of the many of our partners that is really doing the hard work in our communities."

At least once a month, a shuttle transports BCBSIL employees to A Safe Haven, where they may spend a couple of hours staffing the food pantry, prepping meals in the shelter kitchen or filling gift bags with snacks. In 2025, employees volunteered about 600 hours there.

On top of its strong volunteer program, BCBSIL has provided more than $200,000 in funding to the organization since 2024.

"We have a blank canvass for what volunteers can do here," says Angela Lathan, the nonprofit's development director. "They leave with their morale boosted and a real sense of how their time and support contribute to lasting change."

Providing a menu of volunteer opportunities at trusted nonprofits helps employees who want to serve their communities, but don't know where to start, says Long, who vets BCBSIL partner organizations.

In 2025, BCBSIL employees volunteered an estimated 80,000 hours at organizations in their communities. They can select from a company portal to volunteer at vetted nonprofits or find their own organizations to support.

"Taking that step, signing up for an opportunity and seeing what volunteerism can do for someone, it just makes people want to do more," she says. "Our employees are really addressing needs in their communities. They are transforming a life."

Janila Aaron and her 2-year-old daughter are among those who have sought services from A Safe Haven. The organization has helped Aaron, who had been unhoused for a couple of years, get identification documents, her own apartment and career development.

"It's a sigh of relief," says Aaron, who sees a bright future. "Getting an apartment was the main thing. I feel like I'm on the right track."

Building supportive and motivated teams

Although the fourth quarter is a peak time for business, Patel believes volunteerism feeds the culture necessary to build supportive and motivated teams.

"If I don't show up to volunteer, employees are not going to do it," he says. "Leaders bring volunteerism down to a foundational level."

After a 43-year career, Gayle Burchard retired earlier this year from BCBSIL but joined Patel and her former team to volunteer at A Safe Haven. She talked about the joy she feels being with her former colleagues as she filled snack bags to be distributed to cancer patients.

"I had a great career and a super great team," says Burchard, who helped hire many people she worked with. "They make it an easy decision to come out and volunteer."