2025 Winners
Overall Winner: Blackbaud
Finally, our overall winner is Blackbaud. Blackbaud was proactive in prioritizing its employees' wellness program through five pillars: physical, financial, emotional, social and intellectual.
Blackbaud offers benefits that support employees at every stage of life. For example, “volunteer time” promotes engagement in causes employees care about, which in return boosts morale and fosters a positive work environment.
Blackbaud’s Wellness Catalog and Global Well-being Support Center provide self-paced learning resources, while its “Did You Know” Series and live seminars cover various health topics. The company also creates a supportive workplace atmosphere with initiatives like wellness challenges, drawings for wellness items, free biometric screenings and financial fitness sessions.
Blackbaud offers two well-being days, another initiative that is reflected in high satisfaction and engagement rates. Well-being days can be used for a variety of activities, including attending medical appointments, engaging in physical exercise or wellness activities, spending quality time with family and friends, pursuing hobbies or personal interests, practicing mindfulness or meditation, and taking care of personal matters.
Blackbaud's "Find Your 30" challenge enables differently abled employees to incorporate 30 minutes of physical activity into their daily routines. In addition, health coaching programs like UMove, UFit, and UBody encourage focus on fitness goals and activities.
All of these initiatives demonstrate the company’s commitment to inclusiveness and employee well-being. Please join me in congratulating Blackbaud as our 2024 overall Live Life Blue winner.
Greenville Region: Mid-Market Winner: Sumino Textile of America
The recipient of the mid-market group category award for the Greenville region is Sumino Textile of America. Sumino Textile has demonstrated exceptional dedication to creating a comfortable and supportive work environment for its employees.
Providing standing workstations, along with making fresh fruit available at various locations throughout the plant, facilitates healthier choices for employees. The company promotes physical activity by organizing challenges throughout the year and encouraging walking lunches.
Sumino Textile engages a personal trainer to help employees achieve their fitness goals by creating customized workout plans tailored to individual needs. The company has formed a partnership with Adidas to offer discounts on footwear, which encourages more outdoor activities.
In 2024, Sumino Textile introduced volunteer work as part of its wellness initiatives. Employees enthusiastically participate in volunteering for Meals on Wheels, serving on a delivery route each month. This engagement allows employees to give back to the community, enhances their mental health and also strengthens their connection to their workplace.
Sumino Textile offers an Employee Assistance Program that provides mental health support and assistance in various areas. The company has created a quiet break area decorated with motivational quotes, providing a peaceful retreat for employees.
Additionally, a designated room for new mothers offers privacy and refrigeration facilities, along with maternal health assistance to support new parents in this important chapter of their lives.
Greenville Region: Large Group Winner: JTEKT North America
For the Greenville region, JTEKT North America is the large group winner. JTEKT has successfully increased employee participation in its wellness programs by offering a variety of incentives. These include premium credits and prizes such as company swag and other health-related gifts such as Fitbits and Ninja blenders.
To further enhance participation and engagement, JTEKT conducted quarterly group challenges last year, rewarding the top 10 winners with prizes. Ten randomly selected participants also received prizes.
The company launched a Monthly Wellness Champion challenge, which allowed associates to complete various activities based on a health-related theme. Each month, a Champion was selected for each site, further motivating employees to engage in wellness activities.
JTEKT also promotes and creates communications for World Mental Health to remind their associates to take care of their mental well-being.
Looking ahead, the company plans to expand its wellness initiatives to address emerging trends and employee needs. These efforts will include integrating mental health support more prominently into the wellness program, offering regular mental health check-ins, and providing training for managers to recognize and address mental health issues.
The company also will continue its focus on preventive care by providing on-site health screenings, immunizations, lifestyle management workshops and healthy food options.
Columbia Region: South Carolina Federal Credit Union
Our other large group winner in the Columbia region is South Carolina Federal Credit Union. In 2024, the company implemented a new recognition platform to expand its wellness initiatives and award points for wellness activities.
The company continually adds new and creative ways to incentivize and motivate employees, such as gifting on-site massages, portable ellipticals, and meal prep containers. The new recognition platform provides a different approach to rewarding employees, allowing them to claim points or dollars for achieving step totals each month and participate in the Beat the Chief program.
Through this and other initiatives, South Carolina Federal Credit Union looks to expand the positive impact of its wellness program over time and help employees build healthy habits.
The company has offered its Employee Assistance Program for many years, but has worked particularly hard over the last year to expand the effectiveness of this program. It shares bios of available counselors and stresses that these resources are accessible and confidential. Breaking down the stigma and intimidation that may surface when employees seek mental health support has been a key focus of the company’s communication efforts.
In addition to on-site activities, the company works to expand its “people helping people” philosophy by promoting wellness events in the community, such as Dragon Boat, Ride to End Alzheimer's and the AMA Heart Walk. Employees are encouraged to connect and collaborate with others, give back, and do something healthy for themselves.
Additionally, in 2024, South Carolina Federal Credit Union launched its first wellness-related book club and nutrition program, which has already attracted nearly 100 participants. Plans for 2025 include helping to connect every member of Team Blue with a primary care physician, know their health numbers and act on lab results.
Columbia Region: Savannah River Nuclear Solutions
The Columbia Region has two large group winners, starting with Savannah River Nuclear Solutions.
We celebrate this company's unwavering commitment to comprehensive support programs for its employees. Beyond a diverse array of wellness resources, team members have access to essential services through First Sun EAP, including elder care assistance, child care support, legal consultations, college and school assistance, adoption support and pet care services.
The company's dedication to financial well-being is evident in its specialized department focused on retirement planning, wealth management and financial counseling. Strategic partnerships with Prudential, TransAmerica, and SRP Bank ensure that employees receive expert guidance to secure their financial future.
In 2024, SRNS furthered its investment in professional development by enhancing its tuition reimbursement program and introducing two key initiatives: the Student Loan Reduction Program and the Parental Leave Program. These efforts underscore SRNS commitment to employee financial stability and work-life balance.
Additionally, the Employee and Dependent Wellness Fair brought sitewide benefit offerings and wellness activities directly to employees and their families, ensuring access to essential health and wellness resources.
With informational sessions, interactive wellness activities, and direct engagement with benefit providers, SRNS reinforced its dedication to whole-family well-being. Initiatives such as flu shot clinics, mobile mammography screenings, healthy food options, and virtual behavioral health applications empower employees to manage stress and promote mental well-being effectively.
Charleston Region: Giant Cement Holding
For the Charleston region, Giant Cement Holding is being recognized as our large group winner. This achievement highlights the company's commitment to fostering a healthy and engaging work environment.
To encourage participation in wellness programs, Giant Cement conducts annual wellness interest surveys. These surveys help tailor the program offerings each year to better meet the needs and interests of their employees.
In 2024, Giant Cement saw a significant increase in enrollment in Blue Care on Demand, with 22 percent of employees signing up for this telehealth platform. The company actively encourages participation in this service, which provides virtual medical consultations and support for employees’ health care needs.
To further enhance participation, the company offers incentives such as gift cards, an array of prizes, reduced health insurance premiums, and employee recognition. Standing workstations and locker rooms support employees who wish to be more active during the workday. These facilities help employees incorporate physical exercise into their daily routines, promoting a healthier lifestyle.
Additionally, to enhance social well-being, Giant Cement sponsors a variety of team-building events, company picnics, holiday parties and employee sports teams. These activities help build a sense of community and camaraderie among employees, fostering a positive and collaborative work environment.