
Helping people reach their full health potential
We believe every person deserves the opportunity to lead a healthy life, but many people do not have an equal chance because of the social and environmental conditions they live in. These conditions are known as social determinants of health—and the COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the inequities and lack of support systems like never before.
Volunteerism and employee giving
We believe having a high sense of social responsibility begins from the inside out. That’s why we encourage our employees to go out into their communities to volunteer. And we’re creating opportunities to help them do just that. From backyard giving to disaster relief, our volunteer opportunities are diverse.
In 2020 we introduced CSRconnect, an online platform for employee volunteerism and charitable giving. This resource helps employees find volunteer opportunities, record their volunteer hours, and track their impact. Employees can also sign up for Medline’s Service Corps—made up of employees who have committed to furthering the company’s Social Responsibility efforts across Global Health, Community Impact and Sustainability. 2020 volunteer activities ranged from garden harvests to mask distribution events to virtual opportunities.
Our employees were also generous with their money. In June of 2020, Medline donated $1 million to four organizations working to advance racial justice in the United States—Black Lives Matter, The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, National Urban League and United Negro College Fund. In addition to the donation, we offered an employee gift-matching campaign, committing to match up to a total of $250,000 to the four charities. Through the campaign, an additional was $63,856 was raised to support the Black community and advance social justice.
Fighting food insecurity with the Medline garden harvest
Reliable access to healthy food has long been a struggle for millions of Americans, and COVID-19 only made the struggle worse. At the height of the pandemic, one in eight Americans reported experiencing food insecurity.
To help ensure more people have access to nutritious food that fuels a healthy life, employees harvested more than 550 pounds of fresh produce from our fruit and vegetable garden in Northfield, Illinois. The harvest was donated to two local pantries: the Northfield Township Food Pantry, a nonprofit currently serving 830 families in Illinois, and Meals on Wheels Northeastern Illinois, which delivers nutritious meals to homebound seniors and individuals with disabilities.
Employees donated non-perishable items alongside the produce and, prior to the pandemic, we were donating fresh and prepared food items from our cafeteria to a local food pantry on a weekly basis.
“Everything that the Northfield Township Food Pantry distributes is donated or paid for with donated funds, so it’s absolutely critical that places like Medline support us the way that they do.”
– Jill Brickman, Township Supervisor, Northfield Township Food Pantry
Medline CARES—addressing social determinants of health
Medline is committed to taking care of its employees, customers and the community at large. Giving back to the communities where our employees live and work is intrinsic to our century-long history and to our vision forward.
Under-resourced communities, already disproportionately affected by social determinants of health, became even more vulnerable due to COVID-19 and were further impacted during the racial unrest spreading throughout these communities.
In 2020 we introduced our Medline CARES program, which works to address the issues affecting our communities by investing crucial financial and human resources, stimulating health equity and improving population health. This is and will always be our ongoing commitment to our communities.
In 2020, significant resources were invested in communities nationwide through Medline CARES initiatives.
Food insecurity—contributed a total of $52,500 to 12 organizations addressing food insecurity.
Economic stability—contributed a total of $67,500 to eight organizations that provide emergency relief and safety net programs to vulnerable populations.
Education support—contributed a total of $19,000 to three organizations addressing challenges for students and their families.
Health and healthcare—contributed a total of $17,500 to four organizations addressing access to healthcare.
Social and community—contributed a total of $15,000 to two organizations addressing social cohesion in communities.
Donating masks to those in need
The Medline Wash-and-Wear Community Mask Project provided 100,000 reusable facemasks to help Black and Brown communities that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
In collaboration with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, YMCA Metropolitan Chicago and Knowality, the initiative was created to help provide greater access to basic personal protective equipment.
Chicagoans across twelve neighborhoods picked up Medline PPE to help keep themselves and their communities safe.
Awarding grants to uplift communities
Across our nation, Americans face a wide range of uncertainties and health inequities; and, now more than ever, these communities need our support. Medline’s Community Impact Grant Program is investing resources to help address prevalent health challenges, stimulate health equity and improve population health in low-resource areas—awarding financial support to non-profit organizations that share our priorities.
Food insecurity
- Common Pantry
- Curt’s Cafe
- Feeding GA Families (pictured at right)
- Northern Illinois Food Bank
Student and family support
- Communities in Schools of Douglas County
- Center for Enriched Living
Access to care
- Cradles to Crayons
- Eldercare Lake County
- Glida’s Club South Florida
- Rutgers University Foundation
- Susan G. Komen Oregon and SW Washington
Social cohesion
- A Safe Place
- Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Lake County
Advancing the causes Medline employees care about
Our people lead the way in improving the health and well-being of every community we touch. That’s why we take time to recognize them and support the causes they care most about. We do this through our Employee Recognition Program, which celebrates employees making an impact in their community through volunteerism or fundraising. Because of COVID-19, these acts of kindness are appreciated now more than ever.
In 2020, we recognized 11 employees for going above and beyond in their community and made a charitable donation to the organization on their behalf. In all, we gave $30,000.
- Allison Bianchini—Junior League of Wilmington, NC (North Carolina)
- Carol Barnett—Equal Hope (Illinois)
- Christine Mau—The NO MORE Foundation (New Jersey)
- Daniel Johns—Ghana Make a Difference (Idaho)
- Jamie Buechele—Crossroads Corral (Florida)
- Jennifer Cerami—Families of FANA-WNY (New York)
- Julia Karnstedt—Hope Food Distribution Services (Illinois)
- Krista Standford—Harbor House of Central Florida (Florida)
- Kristi Erickson—Nikolas Ritschel Foundation (Illinois)
- Sarah Klostermna—Heartland Animal Shelter (Illinois)
- Scott Livingston—Renew Communities (Illinois)
Take a look at how we’re making a difference in our local communities
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Medline empowers students through unique internship experience
Medline employees mentor high school students as they tackle real-world healthcare problems.
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Medline and its employees raise funds to combat heart disease and stroke
Medline supports the American Heart Association and donates reusable facemasks to communities most impacted by COVID-19.
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Medline celebrates volunteers going above and beyond
Employees are recognized for their service during Volunteer Appreciation Week.