August 18, 2022 (Smithfield, RI) – Hundreds of Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island (Neighborhood) employees enjoyed an afternoon of splish-splashing fun at their second annual “CEO Soak,” raising nearly $12,000 to benefit the ALS community in Rhode Island. Funds raised by the event exceeded Neighborhood’s inaugural CEO Soak tally by over $3,000 and landed the organization for the second year in the top ten list of Rhode Island businesses and organizations that signed on for the fundraising initiative. Monies raised by Neighborhood’s CEO Soak – a corporate version of the Ice Bucket Challenge – will go to the ALS Association of Rhode Island Chapter (the Association) to support care service programs for Rhode Islanders living with ALS. As of today, the Association’s CEO Soak total is over $90,000, making its statewide initiative the second highest performing CEO Soak in the country.

Held on Neighborhood’s Smithfield campus, the CEO Soak had Neighborhood’s President and CEO Peter Marino and other members of the organization’s leadership team braving the dunk tank and ice bucket challenge all while eager employees lined up for a turn at soaking them. Monies raised through these and other activities, including gift basket raffles and Neighborhood apparel sales, pushed Neighborhood past its fundraising goal of $10,000. Outdoor games, food trucks and ice cream rounded out the day’s festivities on July 29.

“The CEO Soak captured the essence of what makes Neighborhood such a special place,” said Marino. “Neighborhood employees always come through when there’s a strong cause to rally around. They are the heart and soul of Neighborhood and I am proud of what we were able to achieve together. Through their community spirit and generosity, we have raised awareness about ALS and significant funds for our community partner, the ALS Association of Rhode Island.”

Neighborhood was the first organization to sign up for the inaugural CEO Soak held in 2021 and is credited by the Association for helping to launch one of the most successful CEO Soak campaigns in the country. For this, the Association presented Neighborhood with the Spirit of Lou Gehrig Award at their 25th Annual Evening of Hope in May of this year. The award recognizes those who have demonstrated great compassion to advancing the ALS cause.

“Neighborhood has been an incredible partner to us and a huge champion for the ALS community,” said Beth Flanagan, executive director of the ALS Association Rhode Island Chapter. “Neighborhood readily took on the first-ever CEO Soak and dove into the deep end with us again this summer too. We are so grateful to Peter and the entire team for helping us spread awareness about ALS and ensuring those living with ALS receive the care and services they need. We hope other companies are inspired by them and join the CEO Soak challenge next year.”

ABOUT ALS:
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neuromuscular disease that slowly robs the body of its ability to walk, speak, swallow, and breathe. Presently there is no known cause. Generally, it costs an average of $250,000 a year to provide the care people living with ALS. Every 90 minutes, someone is diagnosed with ALS, and every 90 minutes someone dies from it.

ABOUT ALS ASSOCIATION RHODE ISLAND CHAPTER:
The Rhode Island Chapter was founded in May 1990 to serve the needs of those living with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and their respective caregivers. The ALS Association (National Office and the Rhode Island Chapter) operates under a shared mission: to discover treatments and a cure for ALS, and to serve, advocate for, and empower people affected by ALS to live their lives to the fullest. The Rhode Island Chapter focuses primarily on helping local patients and families live with ALS while the National Office focuses primarily on research and advocacy.

ABOUT NEIGHBORHOOD:
Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island (Neighborhood) is a not-for-profit health maintenance organization (HMO) founded in December 1993 in partnership with Rhode Island’s Community Health Centers and the state to ensure everyone in Rhode Island has access to high quality, cost-effective health care. Neighborhood serves over 221,000 members in the state with 82 percent of its membership Medicaid eligible through its ACCESS and TRUST plans and 6 percent of its membership utilizing Neighborhood’s INTEGRITY Medicare-Medicaid Plan (MMP). About 12 percent of Neighborhood’s members are individuals, families and small businesses who select one of eight Neighborhood commercial plans available through the health exchange, HealthSourceRI. Of these members, about 85 percent qualify for federal subsidies to cover a portion of their costs. Today, Neighborhood—with over 600 employees and $1.5 billion in revenue—serves one out of every five Rhode Islanders. Learn more at nhpri.org.