HR Carnival – A Need for the Cure
by Lois Melbourne
How do bloggers make a difference? How are bloggers different/better than typical journalist and their outlets? Why should I spend time reading blogs? These are often asked questions. A big answer to all of these questions is Mike VanDervort and the other bloggers who will participate in his Carnival of HR and Charitable Giving.
A carnival of blogs is a “table of contents” of similar blog posts gathered by a dedicated individual willing to encourage, nurture, and challenge other bloggers to rally within a topic. This time Mike is doing it with a wonderful purpose. He’s pulling together blog posts which will encourage giving to charity and highlight the stories about the value of charities. Mike will personally donate money to one charity, selected from all those submitted for the Carnival. Head over to Mike’s blog right now. It might give you the jumpstart to begin blogging yourself. Charities are suffering terribly in this economy and need all the help they can get.
My submittal for this carnival is the need for the cure for Breast Cancer. Susan G Komen foundation is working diligently to raise funds and encourage research, free mammograms where needed, and support for women in the battle with breast cancer.
I lost my mother to breast cancer and both my sister and grandma are survivors. My mother was my best friend. At 14, when I started working, she would pick me up from school or cheerleading practice and drive me to work, then come back and get me. At 17, I became a manager at the same direct mail firm and I hired my Mom. Three years later, with her sweat equity and a miracle, she bought the company.
Nancy Buckingham was like Winnie-the-Pooh. Loved by everyone, never a bad word about anyone, and wise when she didn’t even know it. I was robbed of my mother, as was my son, siblings, her other grandchildren, and the rest of the world. She was taken from us by breast cancer at the early age of 61. She had diminished quality of life for several years as she fought like hell to beat the invasion. I want the Komen foundation to fund finding a cure and to support the mammography routine for all women.
This is an HR Carnival – how does this tie to HR? Here are my recommendations for HR to help fight deaths from breast cancer:
- Help promote the usage of the terms mammogram and breast cancer within your company. There is still too much of a stigma to these terms being used in “polite company” which is ridiculous. Breast Cancer Awareness month is a good time to start this discussion, but any time is great.
- Benefits departments should boycott any insurance company that will not cover mammograms as wellness procedures. Especially in light of the study that was released this week saying women don’t need regular mammograms until their 50’s. (I could have lost my sister, if she had not benefited from early detection of her breast cancer.)
- Support employees who want to donate their time to the Komen foundation or other charities that need volunteers for money raising or awareness activities. Let them to take time off or build in flex time to their schedule to allow for the donated time. You could even donate their hours to the foundation – by allowing employees to volunteer on company time.
- Develop humane policies for your employees who are cancer patients or family members of those struggling with cancer. They need your support.
- Be prepared to refer your employees who face the trauma of being diagnosed with breast cancer themselve, or if one of their family members is diagnosed. The Komen Foundation can help you find counseling and provide you with ideas on the best response in these situations.
- Consider holding corporate events to raise money for the Komen Foundation or another charity of your choice.
Please share your ideas of other ways HR and corporations can have an impact on charitable foundations.
Cheers,
Lois
You may also like...
Related Blog Post
Women Of HRRelated Blog Post
Find Eighty Six HR Blogs in One
