Sean Lynch is a systems analyst at Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. But instead of heading into work Wednesday, he volunteered at the Barreto Club near his home.
“It feels like I connect really well with the Chicago area where I live,” he said of helping out at the Humboldt Park club run by the Union League Boys & Girls Club.
Lynch was among about 120 Blue Cross employees who helped spruce up and decorate the Barreto Club and Club One in Pilsen.
Blue Cross CEO Kimberly Keck said the company’s annual Community Impact Day is about supporting people’s health and well-being.
“We know that 80% of what impacts a person’s health happens outside of a doctor’s office,” she said. “It happens in everyday life with having access to healthy food or affordable housing, or transportation, or a safe place to play.”
Volunteers painted over graffiti on the side of the Barreto Club building and landscaped in front of the building. Inside, the sounds of scissors and taping was constant as volunteers made Halloween decorations and put words of affirmation on bulletin boards.
Keck said the Chicago clubs were picked to help improve youth mental health. Blue Cross is a national partner with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Jeremy Murphy, Barreto Club’s senior director, said the decorations and words of affirmation will boost joy and confidence among the children who go to the club.
“It is definitely gonna hit the hearts of the kids,” he said.
Tim Cunningham, chair of the Union League Boys & Girls Club board, said these outside volunteer events expands who the club impacts. Everyone who participates, he said, can now spread the message on their own.
“They become our ambassadors as well,” he said. “They may come back and volunteer, or they may just talk to their friends and neighbors.”
Amy Lang, managing director of finance at Blue Cross, cut out paper bats.
“I think getting out in the community and just helping out really makes me feel really good,” she said, “and [the hope] that it does have an impact on who we are trying to help.”
