At Cardinal Health, our employees live our mission of improving lives every day – not only through their work, but also through their commitment to the communities where we live and work. Collectively, our employees around the globe provide more than 54 thousand hours a year in volunteer service.
In January, to celebrate this spirit of volunteerism and to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day, our Community Relations team organized multiple volunteer opportunities for employees across the United States. “Helping others was so important to Dr. King, who said, ‘life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?’” said Jessie Cannon, vice president of Community Relations. “Lending a helping hand is also important to our employees, so for these events, we brought volunteer opportunities into the workplace to make it as easy as possible for our teams to participate and make a difference in their communities.”
The Community Relations team organized activities for employees of our distribution centers in Tolleson, Arizona; Detroit, Michigan; Madison, Mississippi; Twinsburg, Ohio; and Salt Lake City, Utah, to help support local homeless shelters. Employees first participated in group discussions to better understand the issues of hunger and homelessness in their communities, then packed up food and hygiene kits to deliver to shelters.
Collectively, these employees filled 430 “packs of inspiration.” They decorated bags with illustrations and words of kindness, then filled them with nonperishable, healthy foods and personal hygiene products. Adrian Feliciano, an associate in the Tolleson facility, said, “With the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it is important to remember that there are families out there that could use a helping hand.”
After volunteering, Cheri Larno, senior coordinator of office services in the Detroit distribution center, said, “I felt a deep sense of community and connection with the recipients of the bags I filled and decorated. Being able to sit down and create a bag was very gratifying.”
Meanwhile, more than 50 employees at our headquarters in Dublin, Ohio, volunteered to support the Dublin Food Pantry, the One Dublin Community Free Shop, which provides clothing and personal care items to families in need, and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. They packed up new kids' socks and underwear to donate to the free shop, and filled bags with personal hygiene products for visitors to the food pantry. They also decorated hundreds of coffee sleeves with messages of hope and encouragement for families of children receiving behavioral health support at Nationwide Children’s. “While decorating coffee sleeves may seem like a small gesture, I know the sleeves will have a big impact on the kids and family members they reach,” said Abby Bachman, senior consultant, supply chain inventory purchasing.
Thanks to all of our employees across the country, who volunteer throughout the years, giving their time, talent, energy and heart to help strengthen their communities.