Zurich North America, a leading provider of property and casualty insurance and a company dedicated to improving the lives of veterans and their families, has made a $5,000 donation to Home Base, a Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Program in support of their mission to heal the invisible wounds, for veterans, service members and their families.
Based out of Boston’s Charlestown Navy Yard, Home Base operates one of the largest private-sector clinics in the nation dedicated to treating and supporting veterans, service members and military families impacted by the invisible wounds such as post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, anxiety, depression, and co-occurring substance use disorder. Zurich’s donation will help pay for flights for veterans and family members receiving care through Home Base’s two-week Intensive Clinical Program serving veterans from across the country.
Paul Horgan, head of U.S. Commercial Insurance for Zurich North America, announced the donation at a special dinner for Zurich customers on April 30 during the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) Conference this week in Boston April 28-May 1. Zurich made the donation to Home Base on behalf of its RIMS attendees and guests attending Zurich-hosted events.
“May is Mental Health Awareness Month, which is an appropriate time to highlight the struggles many of our service members, veterans and their families are facing,” said Horgan. “Home Base’s services are literally lifesaving, and this donation will support transportation services that help break down barriers for veterans seeking vital mental health services.”
“Our motto at Home Base is ‘Their Mission is Complete. Ours has just begun.’ As someone who has witnessed firsthand the toll of war on our military service members and their families, it is now more important than ever to stand as a community as they transition from military service,” says retired Brig. Gen. Jack Hammond, executive director of Home Base. “Home Base will continue to provide life-saving care and are grateful for partners like Zurich who help support our mission and raise awareness to the critical needs of our nation’s military community.”
“We are grateful to those who have bravely served and protected our country,” Horgan added. “We are proud to support our veterans by making sure those most in need of Home Base services won’t have to worry about how they get there, or the costs associated with travel.”
The relationship between Zurich and Home Base isn’t new. Zurich’s Boston community investment team became involved with Home Base through their “Run to Home Base,” signature fundraising event. What initially started with the Zurich Boston team’s involvement as race day volunteers, has – now in 2019 – evolved into Zurich sponsoring its first fundraising team for the race. “Home Base is a cause that resonates deeply with Zurich office members who have friends and family serving our country,” said Dan Kleiman, area executive for Zurich North America.
Zurich makes it easy for veterans to pursue careers at Zurich. Veterans visit ZurichHiresHeroes.com and align their transferable military skills to available Zurich jobs across the nation. Veterans simply enter their military title or code to see positions that reflect their service experience. Zurich’s focus on veterans has been recognized as best employer for veterans by Military Times.
In 2018 Zurich demonstrated its commitment to the communities where we live and work through more than $281,000 derived from 11,382 volunteer hours donated by 1,346 employees through more than 362 service projects.
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