Carolinas HealthCare System Leads the Way in Community Involvement

Carolinas HealthCare System takes a regional approach to uplifting its community through United Way.

 

CHS sponsored Day of Caring events last fall in each of United Way of Central Carolinas’ five counties, helping recruit more than 2,500 volunteers for local acts of service. Beyond that highly visible outreach, their staff holds key positions not only on our overall board of directors, but on the county boards that are so critical to those local campaigns.

 

“Particularly in our surrounding counties, we could not achieve what we do without CHS,” said Richard Heins, United Way’s regional vice president of county operations. “I wish all companies had as many volunteers involved at a leadership level as CHS does – they’re instrumental to our success.”

 

CHS volunteers were also central to the launch of United Way’s new A-LIST and Women United community engagement groups last year. In terms of specific projects, CHS had 619 volunteers contribute 1,923 hours to 23 projects through this United Way.

 

Internally, CHS’s volunteer engagement is a strategic, year-round focus. Their six-week “Make a Difference” campaign occurs each September and October, but the seeds for that peak period are planted back in January with the recruitment of 165 leaders across the organization.

 

These ambassadors bring new ideas to the planning stage, volunteer out in the community during the year, then provide a “bird’s-eye view” for their peers – helping connect the dots on how United Way’s work impacts CHS’s mission of improving health for all.

 

“A strong community is a healthy community,” said Lois Ingland, Assistant Vice President, Community & Civic Engagement, Carolinas HealthCare System, who also serves as vice chair on the United Way of North Carolina board of directors. “Our mission is to provide health, hope, and healing, so we partner with community organizations that have expertise in areas such as housing, education, and employment – all social determinants that impact optimal health. United Way is a strategic partner in fulfilling our mission.”

 

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