Craig Hospital Foundation’s Corporate Community Volunteers: Making a Positive Impact

When outpatients and families first arrive at Craig’s Patient and Family Housing, there are often welcome bags waiting for them. Packed with necessities—such as toiletries, snacks, laundry soap and bags, lip balm, coloring books, puzzles, pens, and a journal—the bags are practical and useful.

In addition to being helpful, the bags are also a symbol of love and support.

 “We want our patients and families to feel welcome and comfortable as soon as they arrive,” explains Rachael Sherman, Craig’s Patient and Family Housing Director. “It’s very important for us to not only make them feel like people care about them, but that they are completely supported by the Craig family.”

She adds, “And thanks to our corporate community volunteers—who assemble or donate welcome bags—that’s exactly how they feel.”

A True Gift

 Corporate community volunteers are vital to the Craig Hospital Foundation, which supports the hospital’s mission of helping individuals rebuild their lives after spinal cord or brain injury.

“Our amazing volunteers are made up of businesses, community groups and individuals who are interested in contributing their time and energy to Craig,” says Caroline Craven, Director of Sponsorship and Engagement at the Craig Hospital Foundation. “Simply put, they are eager to give back and support individuals who are experiencing very difficult challenges.”

In addition to creating welcome bags, corporate community volunteers organize family night meals, peer mentor dinners, snacks, patient birthday bags, and patient greeting cards. They also create paper chains with messages of love and kindness and Patient and Family Housing care packages.

“While we offer several engagement opportunities, we are always happy to create a custom experience that deeply resonates with each group,” explains Caroline. “These activities provide meaningful team-building moments, while also making a real impact in support of the Foundation’s mission. Our patients and their families really appreciate the assistance and aid of our volunteers, which means so much to everyone involved. We consider it a true gift that so many individuals and groups are interested in giving back to the community.”

Making a Meaningful Difference

For Medtronic, a global medical technology company, giving back has been core to the company’s DNA since the very beginning. In addition to developing health care technology, Medtronic’s mission emphasizes the importance of improving lives and being a good corporate citizen.

The company also supports Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which are designed to both educate and create a space for employees to connect.

It was one of these ERGs—named ABLED (Awareness Benefitting Leadership and Employees about Disabilities)—that was responsible for putting together 60 welcome bags, including donating the reusable bags and numerous contents, this past December.  

For Sarah Brock, co-chair of ABLED, serving at Craig makes perfect sense. “Not only does Medtronic support volunteerism, but helping Craig is very personal for me.” Fourteen years ago, Sarah’s brother, Sam, sustained a brain injury in a car accident. After several weeks in a Duluth, Minnesota hospital, Sam—together with his family—traveled to Denver and spent two months as an inpatient at Craig.

“Craig was an amazing, life-changing place,” Sarah recalls. “Without question, Sam would not be where he is today without the incredible care he received at Craig. I even remember my family receiving a welcome bag when we arrived at Family Housing. Putting together those same bags 14 years later is a full circle moment for me.”

Kari Miller, also an ABLED co-chair, says she feels blessed to be able to set up volunteering events at her workplace.

“I grew up with a father who was disabled,” she explains. “I remember many people thinking he couldn’t lead a normal life, but it is possible. And that’s why it is so important to support Craig, so patients can achieve the best possible outcomes.”

 She adds, “Because outreach and community service have always had a very special place in my heart, I am thrilled to be able to support Craig.”

At VanWest Partners, a Denver-based real estate investment company, volunteering has become a cornerstone of the company culture. In fact, the team regularly participates in opportunities at Craig, such as organizing family dinner nights, making donor thank-you calls, and assembling patient welcome bags.

“No matter what we do, the team always feels grateful for the opportunity to engage with Craig’s patients and their families and to contribute, even in a small way, to the hospital’s impactful work,” explains Jacob Vanderslice, VanWest Partners Co-Founder and Principal, and Craig Foundation board member.

“Our core business is creating investment opportunities for others, so it only feels natural for us to reinvest in the community where we live and work—both financially and through our time and energy,” he says.

Jacob Sobek, an analyst at VanWest Partners, adds, “Our team gains a sense of fulfillment and connection through these volunteer experiences. We feel humbled and grateful by the resilience and strength of Craig’s patients, as well as the dedication of the hospital staff. After participating in a Craig event, we all leave with a renewed sense of connection—not only to one another, but also to our community.”

Find more information on becoming a corporate community volunteer here.