CSR Awards: CSR Leader/Company — Under 25K Employees – Amerigroup Corporation

Campaign: Real Caring Volunteer Initiative and Real Solutions

As a community-focused managed care company serving 1.8 million members in 11 states, Amerigroup strives to give back to those communities through its “Real Caring” volunteer initiative. Launched in 2008, the program consists of three components:

● Offers Amerigroup employees the opportunities to volunteer within their communities.

● Utilizes its expertise to assist people with disabilities in the aftermath of natural disasters.

● Partners with charitable organization in donating expertise and resources.

Amerigroup intensified Real Caring efforts in 2009. For example, its Disaster Response Team members trained in the American Red Cross’ “Ready When the Time Comes” initiative, and were indeed ready when Virginia was hit by a bad storm in November. Amerigroup further encourages employees to volunteer through telling their stories on how they’ve made a difference on the corporate Web site and via a new company-wide newsletter. The key, says Tara Wall, SVP of communications at Amerigroup, is support at the highest levels. “With our top executives buying into, taking part in and publicly supporting volunteer efforts, all employees feel empowered to participate at the local level,” says Wall. ■

Honorable Mentions:

Entergy Corporation —

Entergy used Advocate Power, a quarterly newsletter, to promote assistance programs and launched a Low-Income Initiative, which extended support to low-income customers and communities, directly impacting more than 19,000 individuals in local economies.

Chipotle Mexican Grill —

In an effort to improve the food system, Chipotle joined forces with Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media and River Road Entertainment to promote the movie Food, Inc., and partnered with Standard Renewable Energy to install solar panels on approximately 75 Chipotle restaurants, enabling the brand to fulfill its mission of producing “Food With Integrity.”

VHA Inc. —

VHA strengthened the internal team that led the company’s CSR efforts and launched “The Three Rs: Reduce Reuse, Recycle” campaign to engage employees to “walk with a lighter footprint,” earning VHA the Practice Greenhealth’s Champion for Change award for the sixth consecutive year.

Viacom —

Viacom uses its global reach of 170 channels and 400 online properties in more than 160 countries to launch programs around issues such as the environment, education and HIV/AIDS. In 2009 the company launched 40 CSR initiatives, with a total media value of more than $200 million.

March 1, 2010