This Fall, we hosted a mostly virtual Associate Impact Month (AIM). This month-long celebration honored and recognized our associates’ giving spirits and willingness to lend a helping hand. Whether through signing up to be an organ donor, to donating used crayons to assembling bags of pasta, our associates continued to further our community impact mission of, “empowering smiles through volunteering.”
Through our customized micro-site, associates had more than 40 options to select from – including volunteer activities (virtual and in person), customer experience panel discussions, lunch and learns, and more! We are happy to share that more than 80% of our associates participated in at least one event.
Our AIM theme sought to inspire all our associates to reboot, refresh, reimagine how we can come together to better serve others.
Below are some highlights of activities and organizations we served during AIM that we think are grin-inducing and inspiring.
- Morristown Festival of Books: The annual event brings together readers and authors to talk about their books. Our associates volunteered in the Kidfest area, which featured story times and activities presented by some of their favorite writers. A healthy smile and a good book are powerful things in a person’s life.
- Community Food Bank of New Jersey: 16 associates rolled up their sleeves to help assemble 1,480 bags of pasta at the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. This provided 1,233 meals to those in need throughout New Jersey.
- The NJ Sharing Network: The NJ Sharing Network works to educate people about the life-saving benefits of organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Nearly 4,000 New Jersey residents are currently awaiting an organ transplant. Thanks to an AIM virtual event, 7 associates signed up to become organ or tissue donors. 8 associates also signed up as blood donors.
- Soles4Souls: Associates donated pairs of used shoes for Soles4Souls. This nonprofit distributes the shoes to programs around the world. In countries like Haiti and Honduras, the shoes go to local micro-entrepreneurs, who resell them. Delta Dental associates donated 180 pairs of shoes to Soles4Souls, saving 5,400 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from being released and keeping 225 pounds of textiles out of landfills.
- Crayon Initiative: Associates collected pounds of used and unwanted crayons for the Crayon Initiative, which melts them down and distributes them to programs at children’s hospitals, including NJ Children’s Specialized Hospital, Jersey Shore Hospital, and Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital.
Delta Dental associates also came together and served others through team building:
- Our Professional Services Team worked with Delta Dental Foundation grantee, Soft Bones to design boxes for the Soft Bones Hippo Squad. The boxes are filled with programs and activities for children with hypophosphatasia (and their siblings). HPP is an inherited disease that often affects the development of bones and teeth.
- Our Sales Team made paracord bracelets for Operation Gratitude care packages, which were sent to deployed troops. Operation Gratitude provides hands-on support of military, veterans, and first responders. The paracord, which gets its name from parachute cord, provides 7.5 feet of cord that can be used in an emergency. Associates also collected beanie babies and made handmade items such as fleece scarves to include in the care packages.
- Our Human Resources Team led a job readiness training program for the Morris County Urban League.
- Our Operations Team volunteered for Rise Against Hunger, which is working to create a world without hunger. 28 of our associates prepared 5,000 meals!
Our associates certainly make us smile and the organizations we worked with throughout AIM exemplified the meaning of smile power™.
To learn more about Delta Dental’s commitment to our local communities visit www.deltadentalnj.com/our-company/in-the-community.
“A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.”
Steve Maraboli
