Aligned D&I Commitment for Community Organizations

Challenge

D&I has grown increasingly more important year over year internally at Wellmark, but that strategy could not just stay within the walls of our buildings. We needed to walk the talk with our vendor partners, our customers and the communities in which we do business – making a clear statement of the important of D&I and how we were committed to moving intentionally to partner with those sharing our values. 

Actions

The following statement was created and is communicated to all community partners and through all activities of the Wellmark Foundation; “Inclusion, which means to value, respect and appreciate differences, is part of our core values. To ensure these values are reflected in our organizational philanthropy, only nonprofit organizations that have certified they are in compliance with the Inclusion Statement will be eligible for Wellmark’s Matching Gift and Personal Volunteer Time programs. All nonprofit organizations participating in The Wellmark Foundation's BluesCare Giving program must certify they are in agreement with the following Inclusion Statement: We are an inclusive organization accepting of all aspects of diversity. Examples of diversity include: race, color, age, sex, gender identity, gender expression, religion, national origin, ancestry, mental and physical abilities and sexual orientation.”

Outcomes

 Impact of Wellmark’s community efforts can be demonstrated in a variety of ways. 

  • Wellmark has established a reputation of commitment to D&I and organically draws diverse talent. The Talent Acquisition Team has strategic goals to ensure an ongoing pipeline of strong, diverse talent. This team and the Inclusion Council participate in multiple organizations through volunteerism; sitting on Boards and committees with the intent to grow relationships across multi-faceted diversity organizations.

  • Wellmark was represented at 23 community D&I events with exposure to over 140,o00 event participants

  • Community partners have made intentional changes to D&I statements and strategically aligned with Wellmark’s values.
Contact

Rona Berinobis

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