Oklahoma Organizations Take Action #ForHealthEquity with CHC: Creating Healthier Communities
On March 11, One Year to the Day Since COVID-19 was Declared a Pandemic, CHC’s National Giving Day #ForHealthEquity Rallies Oklahoma Communities, Companies and Nonprofits
Oklahoma (FEBRUARY 24, 2021) – Today, CHC: Creating Healthier Communities announced CHC Giving Day #ForHealthEquity on March 11, 2021 – the anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic. #ForHealthEquity is intended to be the single largest day of giving for health equity in the nation.
“For Oklahoma City, March 11 is also the day the Thunder vs. Utah Jazz cancelled their game at Chesapeake Arena due to COVID exposure,” said Shelly Douglas, relationship manager at CHC. “If you are a basketball fan, you know exactly where you were when that happened. From that moment, our country changed.”
Generous organizations in Oklahoma are already stepping up to be part of this movement with Frontier State Bank, R.K. Black, Ann Lacey Foundation and an anonymous organization giving financial gifts. Plus, Frontier State Bank, Whistler Media, Home Creations and Freestyle Creative committed billboard space in Oklahoma City to raise awareness. Pie Five Pizza will also support #ForHealthEquity by allowing customers to donate at three Oklahoma-based Pie Fie Pizza locations, as part of their Pie Five Pizza Gives Back year-long cause marketing campaign with CHC. Southern Plains Tribal Health Board and a few other groups have set up individual fundraising pages as well.
Improving health is a priority in Oklahoma, with the state ranked 46 out of 50 in overall health before the COVID-19 pandemic last year. CHC: Creating Healthier Communities has been working in Oklahoma to improve American Indian health for nearly five years, while supporting overall health and wellbeing for more than six decades.
“Good health is the great equalizer. But the health of our communities has never been more off balance,” said Thomas G. Bognanno, president and CEO at CHC. “The COVID-19 pandemic magnified longstanding health inequities that disproportionately impacted people in under-resourced communities—with communities of color most significantly affected.”
In 2020, CHC called upon its network to come together as a collective force for health equity. Since mid-December, CHC partners across the U.S. have been raising awareness and funds by engaging their employees in giving campaigns, activating their vendor networks, and encouraging customers to donate. CHC Giving Day #ForHealthEquity on March 11 will be the culmination of these efforts, mobilizing CHC’s national network of leaders, partners and communities. All funds raised support CHC’s Health Equity cause and will be granted to high-impact community organizations that address the barriers to good health and equity.
“Achieving health equity requires a collective effort,” said Shelley Hayes, chief engagement officer at CHC and lead on the campaign. “That’s what we’re working towards with our CHC Giving Day #ForHealthEquity, and we invite everyone to join us.”
To get involved as a campaign activist, access toolkits, raise awareness across social media, or learn more, visit CHCimpact.org/For-Health-Equity.
CHC mobilizes 17 million employees each year and has channeled more than $330 million to high-impact nonprofits over the past five years. CHC Giving Day #ForHealthEquity will offer even more ways for company partners and their employees to advance health equity.
ABOUT CHC: CREATING HEALTHIER COMMUNITES
CHC: Creating Healthier Communities, formerly Community Health Charities, is a catalyst for good health, bringing communities, nonprofits, and businesses together around a shared commitment to better health and wellbeing. We represent thousands of high-impact nonprofits nationwide, working to address barriers to good health, and we connect them with capital from our corporate, foundation and government partners to power transformative change. By listening to partners and convening community and business leaders, we ensure that we always act in the best interests of communities, directing resources and expertise where it is needed most. For more information, visit chcimpact.org.
