When Katie McCarthy was looking for additional ways to give back to the community, it didn’t occur to the working mom of two children, whose time is often limited, to mix business with philanthropy. While corporate social responsibility is ingrained in the corporate culture at Halloran Consulting Group, there wasn’t a formal community engagement structure in place. That is, not until she brought Life Science Cares to her team at Halloran.

Halloran began its Life Science Cares membership in 2018 and has since made quite an impact in and outside of the office. For two consecutive years, the group participated in Christmas in the City, purchasing and wrapping gifts in a company-wide challenge and helping families celebrate onsite at the event. Employees have led many diaper, clothing and school supply donation drives for Cradles to Crayons, CASPAR, The LEAH Project and Breakthrough Greater Boston and in 2018, as part of a team building challenge, employees assembled and donated eight bicycles to ABCD. The company hosted a “Lunch and Learn” for young people through Project Onramp, which matches undergraduate students working with Bottom Line with paid summer entry-level positions, which often lead to full-time employment. And, Halloran donated laptops to The Possible Project’s 1,000 Laptop Challenge & Tech Goes Home efforts supporting families’ remote learning and working during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“While our mission is to improve human health with a focus on the life sciences, there is an altruistic vibe that runs deep throughout our organization. Our employees really want to make a difference,” says McCarthy, Chief Development Officer and Managing Director, who leads the consulting business and teams at Halloran. “Life Science Cares has enabled our whole staff to be able to jump in and give back, making it easy to leverage different volunteer opportunities.”

In 2018, McCarthy joined the Life Science Cares’ Board of Advisors, a group that helps to champion the Boston-based collective’s corporate social responsibility effort as it continues to expand nationwide and ensure the nonprofit delivers while covering all administrative costs to enable every dollar raised elsewhere to support nonprofit partners and their missions.

“We are so fortunate to be in the thriving Life Science industry, where we’re part of the effort to make a difference in the lives of patients,” says McCarthy, whose favorite volunteer experience to date was bringing her husband and children to experience the magic of Christmas in the City. “I think it’s our duty to also extend the effort of making a difference to the community around us. I am honored to be a Life Science Cares ambassador within Halloran and across the Greater Boston area.”

Halloran recently competed in the Life Science Cares Corporate Fundraising Challenge tied to the nonprofit’s annual Impact Breakfast, held virtually this year. Through peer-to-peer fundraising, employees exceeded the company’s initial $3,000 fundraising goal, helping to exceed the Challenge’s overall goal of raising $30,000 to support Life Science Cares’ 27 nonprofit partners. Now, the company is gearing up to hold its third gift drive to collect 106 gifts for children in Madison Park Development Corporation’s housing developments this holiday season.

“We love our partnership with Life Science Cares as demonstrated by up to 75 percent of employee participation in many of our volunteer initiatives,” says McCarthy. “We have a group of very dedicated Halloran team members who help organize the opportunities for our employees to get involved with Life Science Cares. It’s very meaningful for our employees and for the culture within our organization. The impact we can collectively make in the world around us is huge – and we’re so glad to be part of the Life Science Cares efforts.”

Elana Cogliano, Halloran’s Senior Manager, Communications and Strategic Operations, and a key player in the Life Science Cares efforts at Halloran health2delivery.com adds, “It’s that sweet spot where we are big enough to see tangible change and small enough to feel connected. More companies and industries should replicate what we are doing here.”

Halloran Consulting Group is one of 50 member companies working with Life Science Cares to support nonprofits that improve the lives of people living in poverty in Greater Boston. Members access dozens of in-person and virtual volunteer opportunities throughout the year and can offer their expertise as pro bono consultants to nonprofits that often face challenges in areas of sustainability, growth and development.

Interested in learning more about Life Science Cares? Click here for ways in which your company can get involved.

Halloran employees donated and wrapped 100 gifts for Home for Little Wanderers as part of their 2019 holiday team building challenge.