By Saskia Lindsay

Colonial Life and Unum employees in Columbia, partnered with the American Red Cross of South Carolina to build comfort kits for local families that may lose everything after a disaster. The kits are full of essentials to help them recover from home fires, hurricanes, or flooding.

"One of our key pillars of giving back to the community is Ready Response, helping individuals, families, and even our employees during times of need," said Marie McGehee, director of corporate social responsibility for Unum, the parent company of Colonial Life. "When we were thinking of ways to volunteer, I naturally thought of the American Red Cross."

As Shawn Steiner, a corporate communications manager at Unum, walked through the assembly line filling a backpack with basics, she remembered when similar efforts touched her life after she lost everything in an apartment fire.

"Only when I put my hands on that care package and started to put those pieces in the bags did I remember pulling items out of my comfort kit at the hotel room, toothpaste, a toothbrush - these things that we no longer had. I remember looking around the hotel that The Red Cross was able to get us."

In 2019, Steiner lost almost everything when her New York apartment caught fire. She says the American Red Cross arrived on the scene before everyone was fully evacuated from the building.

"They offered us one of these care packages, like what we put together today. They offered us help to find a place to stay, which is very important, especially in Brooklyn. We really had nowhere to go," Steiner recalled.

Steiner says that building the comfort kits years later was an emotional and full-circle moment for her.

"The Red Cross did it with such care and compassion at a time when you might not have the faculties to understand what to do, where to go, who to call," Steiner said. "They followed up and stayed with our case for months, helping us get back on our feet. I will forever be grateful for the services at the American Red Cross."

Jennifer Gugliotti, assistant vice president at Unum, says partnering with the Red Cross and creating opportunities for their employees to give back is one of the company missions and one of the projects during this year’s Caring Spirit giving campaign.

"It's great to work with and see everyone, but it's even better when you have fun and do something that makes everyone feel great. It's hard to leave a session like this without feeling great," Gugliotti said.

If you would like to learn more about becoming a supporter of the Red Cross, please contact your local Red Cross Chapter.