AZ Blue in Action: Holiday Edition

December 16, 2024

A call for generous hearts and helping hands was answered by nearly 1,000 AZ Blue employees during the AZ Blue in Action Volunteer Event and Holiday Luncheon on Dec. 11 and at seven other community service events across Arizona during the month of December. In all, 18 Arizona nonprofits benefitted, serving more than 12,000 Arizonans.

A celebration of giving back

AZ Blue’s Phoenix Campus was a hive of activity during the Dec. 11 celebration of giving back. AZ Blue community partner Valley of the Sun United Way helped coordinate a dozen organizations’ participation, and hands-on volunteer opportunities were set up in assembly line fashion. Employees packed meals, gift-wrapped toys, stuffed stockings, and assembled kits for kids in foster care, senior living residents, veterans, tribal communities, women’s shelters, and others.

  • 600 gifts wrapped for Arizona Head Start Association
  • 1,250 “winter wish” bags stuffed for First Things First
  • 1,500 Book-in-a-Bags assembled for Title 1 Schools including Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community schools and the Mesa Public Schools’ Native American Education Program
  • 3,000 weekend food packages filled for families served by Valley of the Sun United Way’s Pantry Pack Program
  • 1,500 winter hygiene kits assembled for unhoused veterans served by Catholic Charities MANA House
  • 500 move-in welcome kits created for single women/families who were previously unhoused, to be distributed by UMOM New Day Centers
  • 1,500 senior citizens mindfulness kits assembled for Foothills Caring Corps
  • 1,000 diaper and baby item kits to be distributed by Arizona Diaper Bank to clients of 4th Trimester
  • 500 self-care stockings stuffed with items for teenagers served by The Foster Alliance
  • 500 canine care kits created for pets of those who are unhoused to be distributed by Arizona Animal Welfare League
  • 400 gifts purchased by AZ Blue employees during an online toy drive for Arizona kids in foster care served by The Foster Alliance

A season of service across Arizona

AZ Blue in Action volunteer events during the month of December mobilized AZ Blue employees to provide support to community partners serving Arizonans in need at locations across the Valley and in Prescott.

  • At a Habitat for Humanity restoration project, employees painted, landscaped, and built community pride with two deserving families in the Sunnyslope neighborhood, not far from AZ Blue’s Phoenix Campus.
  • A Recycle Your Bicycle event in Fountain Hills brought together employees to refurbish bikes for Arizona kids in foster care served by the Arizona Association for Foster and Adoptive Parents.
  • Employees and their families walked and waved alongside the AZ Blue in Action pickup truck at the Prescott Christmas Parade.
  • In the kitchen at André House in downtown Phoenix, employees prepared a comforting holiday meal for clients.
  • Arizona Animal Welfare League welcomed employee volunteers to help with tasks around this shelter and share some love with the dogs and cats await adoption.
  • A crew of employees reset the candles along the trail at Desert Botanical Garden’s Las Noches de las Luminarias.
  • Employees served as personal shoppers at The Foster Alliance Holiday Toy Fest where families checked off the wish lists of Arizona kids in foster care.

AZ Blue in Action embraces hands-on service, giving employees opportunities to serve the needs of Arizonans through community partnerships, and inspire health along the way.