Insurance Company Tackles Cancer Through Healthy Team-Building Efforts

Last year, when the Community Council at UnitedHealthcare/Optum Health Specialty Benefits discovered the company would contribute $500 to the organization’s first 75 Relay For Life teams to form across the country, it started searching for a captain. Rich Frost, whose brother died of esophageal and stomach cancer in 2006, quickly volunteered.

From the outset, that team operated under a major handicap – it formed only one month before Relay. “There was not time to do much of anything except assemble a team and send out e-mails,” said Rich.

Based on its 2009 fundraising results –$8,443 (including the $500 UnitedHealthcare chipped in) - you’d never know UnitedHealthcare/OptumHealth - Columbia Office was at a disadvantage. The 15-member team garnered the third highest fundraising spot in Howard County’s 2009 Relay.

Competitive by nature, Rich decided that with more time to fundraise for the 2010 Relay, OptumHealth Specialty Benefits in Columbia could improve dramatically. Rich set four sky-high goals. He wanted to triple the number of team members, more than double the amount the team raised, capture first place in Howard County’s 2010 Relay, and become the top-rated team in the UnitedHealthcare system.

With Rich’s encouragement, many returning team members signed up immediately after registration opened last fall. In addition, Rich recruited many of the employees who wanted to join the team in 2009 but couldn’t due to time restraints. And, Rich “talked the team up” (Rich’s words) to other staff members every chance he got.

Over time, the team swelled to 45 employees (out of 300 employees at the Columbia location) and one relative of an employee. These numbers were so high that UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits fielded four teams with four team captains, with UnitedHealthcare pledging $500 for each team. Rich said he became more of an overall “general.”

The “general” executed an aggressive battle plan, part of which was to send all

employees at OptumHealth Specialty Benefits - Columbia Office weekly updates and links to the team pages making them aware of the event.

One of Rich’s greatest assets was Sue Cox, who served as a team captain and his “assistant general.” She promoted the Relay to senior managers, who, in turn, encouraged employees to participate and donate. Sue is very passionate about the cause because she lost her mother to cancer in 2003.

Another of Rich’s greatest assets was Mike Stanson, who served as a captain of one of OptumHealth Specialty Benefit’s teams. Mike shared Rich’s motivation to fundraise forcefully because he lost his mother and father to cancer. By accumulating $3,868, Mike became not only the team’s largest fundraiser, but also the second largest individual fundraiser in Howard County’s 2010 Relay.

It was Mike’s idea to hold a miniature golf tournament, which turned out to be a stroke of genius. One hundred twenty people paid $25 each to participate in the May 22 event at the Westminster Island Green Driving Range and Mini Golf Complex. The event included miniature golf, hors d’oeuvres supplied by Buffalo Wild Wings, a golf clinic, and door prizes. Buffalo Wild Wings also donated $1 for every Flying Dog beer ordered on May 22. This event raked in $3,368, making it the team’s most profitable fundraiser.

Money piled up from other fundraisers too. Every Friday in April and May, a putting contest was held on the artificial green behind OptumHealth Specialty Benefits’ Columbia office. Employees paid $1 per try to compete for the lowest number of strokes to complete five holes. The competition was tight, but Beth Beamer won by using only six strokes. Her reward was to receive 10 percent of the money raised by that fundraiser, but Beth generously donated her winnings back to the American Cancer Society, which collected a total of $380 from the contest.

Another arsenal in the general’s fundraising quiver was a “Jeans and Jersey Day.” After securing company permission, employees at OptumHealth who wanted to wear jeans and jerseys to work on May 20^th donated a minimum of $2 each to the team. This fundraiser hoisted the teams’ treasury by $377.

Diane Souza, CEO of OptumHealth Specialty Benefits located in Hartford, Conn., was so supportive of OptumHealth Columbia’s efforts that she donated $10 to any team member who raised at least $50. Thirty-nine employees qualified, swelling the teams’ coffers by $390.

Team members sold Weight Watchers ice cream and other donated food to employees in the Columbia office on April 14th. This activity inflated the teams’ treasure chest by $186.

Teams tallied another $500 by selling $5 raffle tickets for the 2010 Honda Insight Ex Hybrid donated by Mileone Automotive. (These raffle tickets were available to all Howard County Relay For Life team members).

When team members got nervous about the possibility of not raising the $150 per team member requested by Howard County’s Relay For Life, Rich assured them, “If you ask people to donate online, they will give.”

Optum Health Specialty Benefits was more than a well-oiled, finely-tuned fundraising machine. One of its employees, Nancy Gaither, who lost both parents to cancer, suggested that her chorus, the Harbor City Music Company, perform and it took the main stage during the event. “It was a true team effort from the OptumHealth team,” said Sue Cox.

Rich has accomplished three of his four goals. He more than doubled the amount raised (from $8,434 in 2009 to $19,720 in 2010 and this does not include the $2,000 that UnitedHealthcare will add for assembling four teams), tripled the number of team members (from 15 in 2009 to 46 in 2010), and captured the first place team spot in Howard County’s 2010 Relay (again, without UnitedHealthcare’s $2,000 dividend factored in).

As for securing the top-rated team spot in the UnitedHealthcare system, that’s not a done deal because some Relays have not been held. But, as of press time, UnitedHealthcare/ OptumHealth Columbia had raised more than twice as much as the second place UnitedHealthcare team so Rich will probably achieve his fourth goal.

“We got everyone to be very competitive because it’s all for a great cause,” said the “general,” whose army of employees didn’t let him or the cause of cancer down.

Any business or individual interested in forming a team for Howard County’s 2011 Relay For Life should contact Katie Cosgrove at 410-781-4316.