Corporate Philanthropy for SF Hep B Free
Asian Week | The Voice of Asian America
Written by Bill Picture
October 31, 2008
The SF Hep B Free campaign has thrived on the strong efforts from the health care and Asian Pacific American communities, but support from the corporate community has proven just as important for funding and implementing aggressive public awareness campaigns on hepatitis B. Education and outreach, as well as supplies for screening and vaccination, all cost money. And the corporate community has stepped up to the plate to help San Francisco become free of hepatitis B disease.
For Wells Fargo, "supporting the cause" has meant more than simply doling out cash. In addition to recent donations to San Francisco Hep B Free partners, including Chinese Hospital that provides free screening and low-cost vaccination as part of the campaign, members of the company's Asian employee group, Asian Connection, have been volunteering at various San Francisco Hep B Free events.
Maggie Mui, Wells Fargo's San Francisco market region president and a member of Asian Connection, admits that before San Francisco Hep B Free, she knew almost nothing about hepatitis B or its disproportionate effect on Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (APIs). An estimated one out of every 10 APIs is infected with chronic hepatitis B. Without monitoring or treatment, 25 percent of those patients will die of liver failure or liver cancer.
"When we learned about this unsettling situation, we believed it was important to support hepatitis B prevention," Mui explains. "So Wells Fargo team members have been volunteering to support testing, prevention and awareness at community events. And we hope more companies will do what they can to support this cause, given how important we know it is for hepatitis B to be treated early."
"I had been aware of hepatitis B for some time," says Johnnie Giles, vice president of government affairs for Comcast. "But, when I saw the [rate of infection among APIs], I was shocked."
According to Giles, when Comcast management was made aware of the health disparity, they agreed that Comcast couldn't act quickly enough.
"Immediately, they were like, 'Okay, so what are we going to do?' "
In addition to sponsoring a recent fundraiser for San Francisco Hep B Free, Comcast has also donated airtime for public service announcements. And they recently produced a five-minute "Newsmakers' segment about hepatitis B that aired on CNN Headline News.
One might question the importance of a local health campaign to big-name companies such as Wells Fargo, Comcast, PG&E, AT&T, Forest City, AGI Capital and investor Warren Hellman, all of whom are active supporters of San Francisco Hep B Free. But these firms insist that, when an issue has as clear and profound an impact on a community as hepatitis B, it is the moral responsibility of every member of that community to do what he or she can.
"This is a community issue, and we see ourselves as members of the community," Giles explains. "This is one way we could see to give back in a stridently meaningful way that would have a huge and immediate impact on the lives of the people who live and work in our community."
"That's the thing about diseases," says Mary Jung, a manager with PG&E's Energy Efficiency Department. "You hear about all of this research being done, but progress is so slow. With hepatitis B, there are things we can do now to stop it. I find that hopeful. It makes me want to do whatever I can to help."
Jung was so inspired by San Francisco Hep B Free's message that she recently got screened for hepatitis B at a street fair. She's happy to report that she herself is hep B free.
"And the other day, I had an [Asian co-worker] come up to me and say, 'I went to my doctor and I told him I wanted to be tested for hepatitis B because I had read about how Asians are more susceptible,' " Jung says. "So people are definitely getting the message."