For Details, Contact:
Becky Kenny
Media Relations
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico
505-816-2012 or 505-999-8806
Albuquerque, New Mexico, August 3, 2007 – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico (BCBSNM) employees' annual Operation Back to School supply drive has collected 89,490 school supplies worth over $66,000 for children throughout the state. For the past 17 years, the BCBSNM Blue ACE corporate volunteer team has organized a company-wide campaign to collect school supplies for elementary school students. The campaign ended July 30, with school deliveries to begin the first week of August. Blue ACE team members will be delivering some of these supplies in Albuquerque on August 3, 2007, to Hawthorne Elementary at 9:00 a.m. and to La Mesa Elementary at 10:30 a.m.
Operation Back To School began on a small scale in 1990 as a project to support the New Mexico Public Schools Insurance Authority, a BCBSNM insured group. Each year, donations are given to different districts around New Mexico. Each succeeding year the campaign has grown larger, and more schools have been added to the recipient list. This year the regional beneficiaries are Carlsbad Municipal Schools, Hatch Valley Public Schools, Las Cruces Public Schools, Moriarty Municipal Schools, Pojoaque Valley Schools, Roswell Independent School District, and Taos Municipal Schools. Albuquerque schools receiving supplies this year will be Hawthorne Elementary and Las Mesa Elementary.
BCBSNM employees collect six items during the campaign: spiral notebooks, wide-ruled loose leaf paper, #2 pencils, safety scissors, crayons, and glue. BCBSNM departments compete with each other for an annual "Golden Apple Award." The competition for this coveted award is fast and furious. This year, as well as purchasing supplies individually and soliciting donations, departments held fund-raising bake sales, silent auctions, mid-afternoon ice cream float sales, and Frito pie lunches. After raising as much money as possible, departments send their savviest shoppers out to negotiate good prices with local stores.
"What makes Operation Back To School such a wonderful project is that it is completely employee-driven," says BCBSNM President Liz Watrin. "Our employees come together as a team to support education and assist school children in need. I am always overwhelmed by the generosity of the people who work for our company. Supporting education is essential for our success in the global economy and it is critical that all children get the tools they need to succeed at an early age."
Albuquerque deliveries will be:
- Friday, August 3, at 10:30 a.m. at La Mesa Elementary, 7500 Copper Ave. NE, Albuquerque, phone number is 505-262-1581.
- Friday, August 3, at 9:00 a.m. at Hawthorne Elementary, 420 General Somervell NE, Albuquerque, 87123, phone number is 505-299-4424.
BCBSNM will be delivering supplies around the state:
- Monday, August 6, in Moriarty, 9:00 a.m. at the Superintendent's office, 200 Center Street, Moriarty, NM, phone number is 505-832-5809.
- Monday, August 6, in Roswell, 2:30 p.m. at the Superintendent's office in Roswell, NM, phone number is 505-627-2511.
- Tuesday, August 7, in Carlsbad, 10:00 a.m. at the school's Administration Building, 408 North Canyon, Carlsbad, NM, phone number is 505- 234-3300, ext. 206.
- Wednesday, August 8, in Pojoaque, 2:00 p.m. at the Superintendent's office, phone is 505-455-2282.
- Wednesday, August 8, in Taos, 11:00 a.m. at the Administration Building, 213 Paseo de Canon, Taos NM, phone number is 505-758-5200.
- Thursday, August 9, in Hatch, 10:30 a.m. at Rio Grande Elementary, 2000 East Herrera, Hatch, NM, phone number 505-267-8226.
- Thursday, August 9, in Las Cruces, 1:00 p.m. at the Las Cruces Public Schools Administration Foyer, 505 S. Main, Loretto Towne Center, Las Cruces, NM, phone number is 505-527-5800, ext. 5805.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico is a Division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
###
