QUINCY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Arbella Insurance Foundation today announced it has raised $45,000 for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Community Benefits Program, which works to reduce cancer risk among medically underserved populations. Arbella employees raised nearly $15,000 in support of breast cancer screenings and breast health education for women in Massachusetts at the company’s fifth annual Pink Day event, held on October 29. This money was matched two-to-one by the Arbella Insurance Foundation for a total of $45,000. The funds will support Dana-Farber’s Mammography Van community visits in 2014, as well as Dana-Farber’s Blum Family Resource Center Van stops, which provide prostate cancer screening and education, and skin cancer screening.
Pink Day was started in 2009 by employee Dot Olson after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent treatment at Dana-Farber. Olson created “Pink Day” with the goal of gathering support for breast cancer awareness and research. The event is now coordinated by the Arbella Activities Committee (AAC), a group of employees from across the company who are committed to promoting a culture of teamwork and camaraderie, corporate citizenship and fun.
During Pink Day, employees show their support by wearing pink to work, donating money to dress casually, purchasing Dana-Farber bracelets, contributing to departmental gift baskets and participating in the donated basket drawings.
All of the money raised goes directly to Dana-Farber. Since its inception, Pink Day has raised more than $110,000 for Dana-Farber.
“We are so proud of how Pink Day has developed,” said Beverly Tangvik, assistant vice president and director of charitable giving for the Arbella Insurance Foundation. “It is moving to see our employees rally around a cause that has touched the lives of so many in our Arbella community and in our New England communities. Now, in our fifth year, it has grown into one of the biggest events for our employees and the Foundation.”
“Arbella is committed to supporting Dana-Farber and its mission of bringing cancer education and prevention services to Massachusetts communities,” said John Donohue, chairman, president and CEO of the Arbella Insurance Group and chairman and president of Arbella’s Foundation. “It’s a privilege to live in an area with such an advanced and influential cancer institute, so we are proud to do our part in supporting their outstanding services.”
Dana-Farber's Mammography Van provides mammograms and breast health education to medically-eligible women, aged 40 years and older, regardless of their ability to pay for such services. The Mammography Van, the only mobile mammography program in Massachusetts, partners with community-based organizations and neighborhood health centers in its mission to decrease breast cancer morbidity and mortality among medically-underserved women and increase survival rates for those diagnosed with breast cancer. Rebecca Freedman, assistant director of corporate partnerships, and Magnolia Contreras, director of the Community Benefits Program for Dana-Farber, visited Arbella’s Quincy headquarters during the Pink Day event to thank employees for their generosity.
“Arbella’s Pink Day support has been instrumental to Dana-Farber’s Mammography Van,” said Contreras. “The generous support from the employees and Arbella’s Foundation allows us to bring life-saving cancer screening to communities all across Massachusetts. We are enormously grateful.”
About the Arbella Insurance Group and the Arbella Insurance Foundation
Established in 1988, the Arbella Insurance Group (www.arbella.com) is a company with over $600M in revenue with approximately $1B in assets, headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts. Arbella is a customer-focused regional property and casualty insurance company, providing personal and business insurance in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and business insurance in Rhode Island and New Hampshire. Arbella Insurance Group founded the Arbella Insurance Foundation in 2004. The mission of Arbella’s Foundation is to engage in activities and to support not-for-profit organizations that have a significant positive impact on the people and communities served by Arbella.
