PLUS Special Section

Giving back

PLUS Foundation chooses children's hospital as annual charity

By Phil Zinkewicz

“The PLUS Foundation will generate quality philanthropic and outreach programs that promote diversity and reflect the generosity of the professional liability community, and provide resources for education and research.”

That’s the mission statement of the PLUS Foundation, and for the last several years, at the annual PLUS conferences around the country, the Foundation has been achieving those goals admirably. In 2007, the Foundation contributed dollars and services to the Walter Reed Society in Washington, D.C. A year earlier the Foundation worked with Chicago’s Special Olympics, and in 2005 Big Brothers Big Sisters in Boston was the worthy charity chosen by the Foundation.

This year, at the PLUS annual next month, the Conference Cause is San Francisco’s UCSF Children’s Hospital, specifically the hospital’s Child Life Program.

PLUS Foundation President David B. Williams, senior vice president of Specialty Insurance for Chubb Insurance Co. of Canada, says that there’s no way to measure the good works performed at the children’s hospital daily. “Children in this program and their families are going through unbelievably difficult times,” he says. “The Child Life Program is there to help.”

The UCSF Medical Center system consistently ranks among the top 10 hospital systems in the United States. According to U.S. News and World Report, the children’s hospital is among the nation’s best, with a national reputation for transforming pediatric health care. With a 150-bed inpatient facility in San Francisco and 60 outreach clinics, UCSF Children’s Hospital treats more than 80,000 children a year and has distinguished itself as a preeminent leader in developing treatments and discovering cures.

Hospital stays are challenging for children and their families. The Child Life Program at UCSF supports the developmental and emotional needs of children and their families and minimizes the negative impact of illness, injury, and disability. Each year the Child Life Program typically supports 5,000 hospitalized children and another 5,500 children seen in clinics.

The Child Life Program provides a diversity of services for many ages and needs:

• The Playroom offers activities that allow children to feel as normal as possible while hospitalized.

• The School Program and Classroom keeps children and teens engaged in academic pursuits to help them keep up in school.

• The All Stars Technology Room provides a positive distraction from stress via technology such as computers and electronic games.

• The Teen Room supports those with unique challenges and connects them with peers for beneficial support.

• The Family Resource Room keeps parents connected to their home and family via free phones, computers, and more.

In addition to the annual charitable event, the PLUS Foundation encourages research into the field of professional liability by offering grants to support graduate and Ph.D.-level students of insurance at the University of Connecticut, Florida State University, St. John’s University, and Stanford University.

Moreover, the Foundation offers a Minority Intern Grant Program to promote diversity and recruit new talent into the professional liability field; the program supports 72 intern placements. Financial aid scholarships also are available from the Foundation. What’s more, the PLUS Foundation has raised money for families that have fallen victim to major disasters like 9/11 and hurricanes.

The PLUS Foundation is best known, however, for the annual Conference Cause. “When we come into a city for our annual conference, we like to believe we left that city a bit better off than it was when we got there,” says Williams. “We like to feel that we’ve made a difference. That’s what the Foundation is all about. There are some 6,000 members of PLUS. The Foundation gives them the opportunity to contribute to communities around the country.”