Inspiring Corporate Volunteerism

CVS/Caremark Volunteer Challenge Grants

The CVS/Caremark Volunteer Challenge Grant Program recognizes employees who go the extra mile to better their communities.  This program was designed and implemented by TPI as part of a strategic planning process with CVS/pharmacy in the 1990s to support and strengthen the volunteer efforts of their employees. 

Like many corporate “dollars for doers” programs, the CVS/Caremark Charitable Trust enables individual employees to apply for a small grant ($500) for the nonprofit where they volunteer.  But the program goes further by encouraging employees to join together as volunteers on larger projects, allowing teams of at least three employee volunteers to apply for grants of up to $2,500.  Another unique aspect of the program is special bonus grants available for nonprofit organizations working with children with disabilities, as part of CVS’s focus on “All Kids Can.” 

In 2007, the program awarded $260,000 to nonprofit organizations around the country, rewarding the efforts of 88 CVS teams and 178 individual employee volunteers. Below are descriptions of a few recent grants:

Middle Tennessee Medical Reserve Corps – Tennessee
A CVS team of pharmacists is an integral part of the pharmacy unit of the MTMRC, a unit that responds to disasters and public health events. During Hurricane Katrina, the MTMRC was tasked with providing medical personnel to Red Cross shelters. The CVS team supported those medical personnel by providing pharmacological services on a daily basis. In addition to direct response activities, the CVS team has assisted the MTMRC in developing processes for use in mass vaccination and dispensing clinics during public health outbreaks.

Saluda Elementary School – South Carolina
Another group of CVS employees has helped to develop a garden at the Saluda Elementary School to improve the environment. Over the past four years, this program has enabled 318 students to experience gardening. The volunteers have allowed students to take the garden home by sending seed pods, seedlings, cuttings, and some of the harvest. Volunteers will continue to teach students how to plant and nurture the garden and themselves.

One-on-One Partners, Inc. – Arizona
One-on-One Partners, founded in 1995, provides at risk youth with caring adult mentors. A CVS employee team has volunteered in many different ways. Some have become mentors, spending three hours a week helping a child with school work and involving him or her in fun activities. CVS employees have also participated in the organization’s fundraising events. The majority of the team has been involved with the organization for several years.