Arbella Celebrates 2016 Corporate Giving Initiatives

2/15/17

The Arbella Insurance Foundation is proud to announce the donation of $2.9 million as well as 1,731 Arbella Insurance Group employee volunteer hours in 2016 to 604 not-for-profit organizations and safe driving efforts throughout New England. The Foundation’s giving is enhanced by the involvement of Arbella employees and its independent insurance agents.

“I am continuously humbled and inspired by the passion, creativity, and caring that our employees and independent agents display in giving to local charities that are important to them,” said John Donohue, chairman, president and CEO of the Arbella Insurance Group and chairman of Arbella’s Foundation. “Arbella is able to make a positive impact in the communities we serve thanks to the steadfast dedication of our team. It is an honor to work with them and support them through our Foundation.”

Highlights of Arbella and its Foundation’s 2016 charitable giving initiatives include the following:

Supporting Arbella Employees in Charitable Giving: Arbella’s Foundation distributed more than $131,000 in support of a range of causes that were meaningful to Arbella Insurance Group employees. The Foundation supported employees who took part in 52 charity walks and other events and also matched donations made by employees to various nonprofit organizations. Arbella’s Foundation organized 57 volunteer events in which Arbella employees participated during the work day. Since the Foundation’s inception in 2004, employees’ donations and the Foundation’s match have totaled more than a million dollars to hundreds of charities and causes, all selected by the Arbella employees.

Partnership with Arbella’s Independent Agents: Together, Arbella’s independent agents and the Foundation donated more than $778,000 in support of a variety of local causes. Arbella’s Foundation finds great value in working with and supporting independent agents, who provide deeper insight into the needs of their local communities, allowing funds to go directly to those in need. Highlights of 2016 agent/Foundation giving included joint donations of $151,142 to food pantries and food programs throughout New England as part of the Let’s Drive Out Hunger program.

Homelessness and Hunger: With rising rates of homelessness and food insecurity in New England, Arbella’s Foundation continued its strong advocacy for homeless and hunger relief in 2016, supporting a number of local organizations. Highlights included:

  • Arbella’s Foundation continued its long-term partnerships with Interfaith Social Services, dedicated to improving life for South Shore families and individuals in need, and Father Bill’s & Mainspring, committed to helping people struggling with homelessness, by providing financial support to both organizations.
  • The Foundation provided significant funding to the MA Affordable Housing Alliance’s Home Ownership program, which educates and mobilizes individuals and communities to increase affordable and sustainable homeownership across Massachusetts.
  • The Foundation continued its support of the New England Center and Home for Veterans through its sponsorship of the organization’s annual “Leave No One Behind” fundraising event.


Youth and Families:
Arbella’s Foundation proudly supported several local programs:

  • The Foundation sponsored several programs for all ages offered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), including youth and family concerts, Holiday Pops kids matinees, YoPro, the BSO’s young professionals group and the BSO College Card program, which allows college students to experience concerts affordably.
  • The Foundation continued its support of the New England Wildlife Center and its hands-on science education programs and community events.
  • Arbella’s Foundation also supported Boston Harbor Now, which offers families environmental education and recreation at the Boston Harbor Islands.


Health and Wellness:
Arbella’s Foundation proudly supported several local initiatives:

  • As part of the Melanoma Foundation’s Practice Safe Skin program, Arbella sponsored 50 free sunscreen dispensers in high-traffic outdoor spaces across Massachusetts.
  • The Foundation helped fund the Western MA American Red Cross’ HomeFire Preparedness Campaign – a localized effort to provide home safety and fire prevention tools, including the installation of new smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
  • Arbella’s Foundation continued to support a variety of local YMCAs and Boys and Girls Clubs, which offer a variety of programs and services dedicated to healthy living.


Safe Driving:
The Foundation built upon its long-standing commitment to keeping drivers safer on the roads in 2016:

  • The Foundation recommitted to its Distractology program for an additional 5 years. The mobile classroom travels across New England to educate new drivers on the dangers of distracted driving. The Foundation also updated the driving simulator scenarios in 2016 to include distractions created by smartphones, streaming music, and food and drink, in both residential and highway conditions. Drivers who have completed Distractology are proven to be 19 percent less likely to have an accident and 25 percent less likely to get traffic violations.
  • Boston Safest Driver was an interactive mobile app designed by Boston’s Vision Zero to engage the public in traffic safety and eliminate crash related fatalities in the city by 2030. The Foundation partnered with the City of Boston in the creation and launch of a Greater Boston competition in which the app tracked and rated user driving against other app users over a three-month period. The competition, with more than 4,000 participants, was successful in reducing common crash causes, with distracted driving rates reduced by 47 percent, hard braking rates reduced by 37 percent and speeding rates reduced by 35 percent.
  • The Foundation also supported the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Team Rival competition by sponsoring a distracted driving safety challenge for 31 different high schools.


Bearingstar Insurance and Arbella Claim offices:
Arbella Insurance Foundation and the employees at Bearingstar Insurance locations in Massachusetts and Connecticut, as well as employees at Arbella’s claim offices in Wakefield, West Springfield and Bridgewater, identified local charities to support throughout 2016:

  • The Bearingstar Insurance Charitable Fund, part of the Arbella Insurance Foundation, donated $105,500 to several organizations providing a wide range of social services support to families and individuals, including the Special Olympics Connecticut and Birthday Wishes in Massachusetts.
  • Arbella’s claim offices chose a variety of causes to support, including food pantries, a local hospice and YMCA camps.


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 $850 million in revenue with over $1 billion 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.

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