Community Involvement
At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, our concern for the communities where we live and work is a natural extension of our commitment to our customers and to building relationships with health care providers across the state. Our dedication to working alongside local organizations to improve the well-being of those in need has been an important part of our heritage since the very beginning.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is honored to call Texas home — from Amarillo to Harlingen, Beaumont to El Paso, and Marshall to Midland — and we believe it is not only part of our heritage, but also part of our future that we seek to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Our community outreach activities include:
Healthy Kids, Healthy Families is a three-year initiative by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas to improve the health and wellness of children throughout the state.
Together with partners across three other states, Healthy Kids, Healthy Families is designed to reach at least 1 million children and their families by focusing on nutrition education, physical activity, disease prevention and management, and supporting safe environments.
Grant opportunities are available for organizations that align with the focus areas of the initiative.
Since its founding over 80 years ago, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) has made a commitment to core values which include community support and active volunteerism. Today, our commitment to those core values are expressed through a variety of outreach efforts, from employee volunteers who participate in our Blue Corps team, to financial support/sponsorship of successful health initiatives in the communities where we live, work and do business. Around the state, BCBSTX takes pride in reaching out to community partners to keep our commitment to giving and improving the well-being of Texans. Learn more.
The OrganWise Guys (OWG) is a dynamic, interactive, school-based program that uses creative, fun characters, which are based on the organs of the body, to inspire young children to take charge of their health. The programs are based on promoting four basic lifestyle habits: maintaining a low-fat diet, eating high-fiber foods, drinking lots of water, and engaging in regular exercise; as these are the building blocks of sound preventive health habits.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is proud to support the Marathon Kids® program in the greater Austin, Dallas and Houston areas. This free, six-month running/walking and nutrition program helps kids who are most vulnerable to childhood obesity, K–5th graders, increase their physical activity (walking/running a total of 26.2 miles in small increments in a six month period) and make healthy eating choices for a lifetime. Learn more 
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Through the support of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Ballet Austin welcomes Central Texas non-profit and social service agencies and their clients to join us for Ballet Austin's final dress rehearsal of each production. Children, adults and friends of those in need join us and experience a full ballet production. Each year, more than 9,500 guests attend these performances at no charge. Who attends Ballet Austin's Night of Community? Learn more .
To date, more than 50,000 Texas children have received helmets through Hard Hats for Little Heads. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas continues to be a major supporter of Hard Hats for Little Heads, by sponsoring the distribution of thousands of helmets to kids across our state each year. Learn more .
One of the key ways Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas shares responsibility for the well-being of the communities where we live, work and do business is through our employees who volunteer their service. Our Blue Corps team is comprised of hundreds of BCBSTX volunteers who donated over 6,646 hours of their time in service this year to more than 100 organizations across Texas. All are outstanding ambassadors for our company who give thousands of hours every year to help the less fortunate. They help to fill the gap in health care, education, and social services for the underprivileged, which shows why employee volunteerism is the heart of our tremendous community outreach effort.
The Speak Up for Kids 5K race series helps to raise funds and cultivate friends for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate™) volunteers who speak up for abused and neglected children. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is the Presenting sponsor of this fun, family event which includes a 5K run and a Kids Fun Run for participating families around the state. Learn more .
