Community Impact
We encourage our employees to have a positive impact in our communities. Participating in activities that promote positive social and environmental change in the communities where we do business is a vital investment in our employees and the future of our state. We are committed to volunteerism, giving, and sustainability. Our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team sponsors socially conscious initiatives in an effort to improve our world.
We do this through volunteer efforts, donations of time, money, and goods, and by promoting social and environmental well-being. We are aware of the impact we can have on our communities and we acknowledge our responsibility to help make them a better place to live and work.
Our CSR program celebrates and coordinates various events during the year.
Giving
Blood Drives
We are generous blood donors and are proud of our efforts to help replenish the vital supply of blood in our communities. Every year we partner with local carriers to host spring and fall blood drives. Since 2015, our employees have donated 2,636 pints of life saving blood throughout the state.
Our Promise Campaign
Our Promise provides state employees throughout California with the opportunity to contribute to a charity of their choice through payroll deduction.
In 2019, our employees pledged a grand total of $148,670.00 to numerous non-profit programs throughout the state, ranking us as the number one contributor among all boards and commissions, and number six among all state agencies. Cumulatively, we’ve donated $772,517.96 through Our Promise since 2015.
#GivingTuesday
Established in 2012 through a joint effort of the United Nations Foundation and the 92nd Street Y, #GivingTuesday is a response to what many see as the over-commercialization post-Thanksgiving season. Held on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, it brings much needed donations to local charities and offers organizations like ours the opportunity to give back. Our employees began contributing to #GivingTuesday in 2016. Since then, employees have authored 19,988 Notes of Hope for cancer survivors in partnership with the American Cancer Society, donated over 8,000 items, and 9,379 pounds of food to more than 20 charitable organizations.
Strategic Alliance
We’ve created charitable alliances with the American Cancer Society (ACS) and Kids Chance of California. These direct partnerships give us the opportunity to deepen our relationship with organizations who share our commitment to making a difference. As part of our alliance, we make cash donations as well.
Kids Chance of California was established in 2011, as a non-profit organization to provide scholarships to children of California workers fatally or seriously injured on the job. In 2019, we were honored as the organization’s Elite Sponsor, donating more than $50,000, resulting in seven scholarships.
The American Cancer Society has been one of the leaders in the fight against cancer for more than 100 years. We encourage our employees to participate in events such as Relay for Life and Making Strides against Breast Cancer.
In 2019, our CSR staff worked with ACS to create the Adopt-A-Clinic program. The goal was to improve the rate of early colorectal cancer screening at the Tiburcio Vasquez Health Centers in Alameda County. This clinic’s largely Latino patient population has relatively low rates of colorectal cancer screenings. In 2020, amid a global pandemic, we donated a total of $82,327.00 as part of the ACS CEO and Employee Step Challenge. This step challenge encourages our community to be healthy by walking for a cause while bringing awareness and educating people on cancer related-issues, such as prevention, risks, and treatment.
Volunteering
National Volunteer Week
This week is about coming together to build stronger, more diverse, and responsible communities through service. We create stronger bonds with our community partners and with one another through hard work. We provide employees with multiple opportunities to volunteer in their community during this week.
Our employees display their true colors demonstrating the same sense of spirit and generosity they bring to their job every day. Since 2014, 8,985 employees have contributed a total of 26,955 hours to help make the communities where we live and do business better than when we started.
From Redding to Rohnert Park, Sacramento to San Diego—we did it all, from packing produce to cleaning up parks—doing it with a smile!
Veterans Day/Operation Clean
We are deeply proud of all State Fund team members and their family members who have served our country. To honor our courageous veterans, we hold appreciation events to recognize the service and sacrifices they’ve made. We gather to hear their thoughts and experiences to strengthen bonds with our colleagues. We also created “Operation: Clean”, a toiletry drive for homeless veterans. In 2018, more than 18,400 items were collected across 19 offices and donated to various Stand Down events benefiting homeless veterans throughout California.
Family
Kids@Work
Investing in our kids to “insure” a better tomorrow
We want to play a role in shaping our future generations. By spending time at work with family members, our employee’s children explore real life experiences, career options, and gain insight into their parents’ work life. On Kids@Work day, they participate in various activities at our offices including team building exercises, scavenger hunts, creating vision boards, and spending interactive time at their parents’ desk.
Since 2015, we’ve hosted 2,385 children at our campuses across California. The children learned about State Fund operations and about their parents’ roles in the company. The kids participated in many creative and career-driven activities, and based on their enthusiasm and talents, our future looks promising!
Sustainability
We embrace environmental sustainability as a way to create value for our customers, employees, and communities. From improving our business practices, to encouraging employees to take action and make a positive environmental impact, we are extending our values-based commitment to being stewards of our planet.
Earth Day
In 2019, our CSR team issued a challenge to “Ban the Bottle,” encouraging employees to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic water bottles in an effort to diminish waste and help the environment. Ban the Bottle is a prime example of how we’re committed to reducing our waste footprint and helping the environment.
We had 1,440 employees commit to ditching single-use plastic water bottles and opt for a reusable, more sustainable, way of staying hydrated. Stemming from the idea that small steps can make a big impact, the campaign encourages you to take one action to help make the world a better place.
The collaborative impact of small contributions shapes our world, just like every single leaf shapes and gives life to a tree. Through efforts such as these, we’re creating a workplace that balances the social, environmental, and economic factors of doing business in an ethical way.