Giving back the Children’s way

With 5,000 employees and a growing number of locations, every day, Akron Children’s Hospital touches the lives of families throughout northern Ohio. What you may not know is many of our employees also give their own time and resources to support the community beyond their work at the hospital.

“Part of our hospital’s mission is to help children, and when that’s your mindset at work, it often carries over into your personal life, too,” said Carolyn Hofmann, employee involvement coordinator for Akron Children’s. “…we provide our employees with multiple opportunities to give back to the community or the hospital – individually, as part of a team or with their families. It’s a win-win for the groups we support and for our employees.”

Last year, Children’s employees gave back nearly $300,000 to the community. Thanks to the hospital’s Employee Foundation Council (EFC), fundraising events and volunteer opportunities, staff and employees can support the causes and communities that mean the most to them. For example, the hospital coordinates:

• A community drive each year where money is collected and goes to charitable agencies designated by the employee.
• An annual Harvest for Hunger campaign to support the Akron-Canton and Mahoning Valley food banks. In 2014, Children’s provided 134,245 meals through food donations and monetary gifts.
• The Kids Are #1 Run and Family Fun Day. Now in its 30^th year, the event raises money and brings families together for a fun and healthy event.
• Regular American Red Cross blood drives. Last year Children’s collected 923 pints of blood.
• Annual scholarships for deserving students of employees who are attending institutions of higher learning or trade schools. Last year, the hospital gave $13,500.

Akron Children’s understands the value volunteers and donations bring to an organization, which is why we’re proud our employees not only support our patients, but also the broader community year round.