Season of Giving 2023: An Inspiring Start
Season of Giving 2023: An Inspiring Beginning
In 2023, Lightship and Acclinate launched our first annual Season of Giving — and it was a resounding success! Lightship and Acclinate are partnered to lead the way in offering more inclusive clinical trials by engaging people where they are. The first step to meaningful and trusted relationships with the people and communities we engage, is to give back to the communities we live and work in everyday.
To honor the communities we serve, during November and December our teams across the United States volunteered their time to help the people and communities who give so much to us in clinical research.
“Lightship and Acclinate partnered to improve health equity in clinical research,” says Lightship Co-Founder Samantha Eells, “and by coming together to do the Season of Giving, we’re able to give back to the communities that give to us.”
We had fun and made a positive impact. Here’s a snapshot of the impact we made together.
Birmingham, AL
In Birmingham, Lightship and Acclinate actively participated in a local initiative. Our teams came together at the Bush Hills Community Garden & Urban Farm, not just to volunteer, but to make a direct impact. We worked at the garden and helped distribute its fresh produce to local residents, directly supporting the health and wellness of the community.
This hands-on effort was matched by our involvement in the Bush Hills Community Holiday Gala, where we played a supporting role in bringing holiday cheer to the neighborhood.
Senior Director of Business Development Kyle Ashe of Acclinate summarizes our shared mission, “Our strategic partnership with Lightship is about improving access and education. Together, we’re not only pursuing business success, we’re committed to giving back to the community.” This sentiment fueled our actions as we invested our time and resources to support those around us.
Through these endeavors, Lightship and Acclinate have demonstrated a commitment to community engagement that goes beyond business as usual, reflecting a genuine dedication to the people who are at the heart of clinical research.
Los Angeles, CA
In November 2023, Lightship and Acclinate volunteered at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank to help combat hunger. Sepehr Shojaei, VP of design solutions at Lightship, shared his thoughts: “Typically, our work with Acclinate is in reaching underserved populations in the clinical trial space and increasing access and choice. We wanted to work with them in giving back to our communities and supporting those who have supported us throughout the year.”
That day, our teams assembled 1,257 food packages for Los Angeles County families.
These packages are vital, as the LA Food Bank plays a key role in feeding those in need, delivering meals through local organizations and direct programs.
Samantha Eells, co-founder of Lightship, shared her perspective: “At the food bank today, we’re putting together packages of food to give to different folks across L.A. County. Lightship’s mission is to improve access and choice in clinical research, and overall drive better health equity for all. By giving back to the communities that serve us, this helps improve the engagement around how we work with the people who give to us in volunteering their time in clinical research.”
This day of service went beyond volunteering; it was a clear demonstration of our core values, showing our dedication to enhancing health outcomes and the well-being of the communities we serve.
Raleigh, NC
In December 2023, our teams supported the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina’s efforts to reduce hunger:
- This food bank serves 34 counties and distributes 2 million pounds of food per week
- 600,000 people in the region experience food insecurity — half of which are kids and teens, with the second largest group being senior citizens
- Food goes from the Raleigh distribution center to partner agencies/nonprofits like food kitchens and schools, as well as directly to families in need
- During our volunteer shift we helped pack 19,515 pounds of sweet potatoes — equivalent to 16,292 meals!
Kim Rose, Lightship VP of legal operations and one of the volunteers, emphasized the importance of the initiative, “This is the first year that Lightship is doing a Season of Giving, and we’re all very excited about it, and partnering with our friends at Acclinate to do this. ... It feels really important to be involved in the community and to give back when we can. Community involvement and community engagement is critical to everything that we’re trying to achieve as a company. It aligns with our goals and our mission to expand access, increase diversity in clinical trials, and just be a bigger and better part of our communities.”
Kyle reinforced the collaborative spirit, “A big piece of what we’re doing at Acclinate — and at Lightship, too,” says Kyle, “is community engagement work. ... Let’s use our hands together. This is how you create partnerships.”
This initiative has allowed Lightship and Acclinate to offer vital support and reinforce our commitment to community and collaboration, central to our missions.
Additional Contributions
In addition to the major city events hosted by Lightship and Acclinate, we had many team members who don’t live near one of these hub cities step up to create Season of Giving contributions of their own:
- In Washtenaw County, MI, a team member participated in a weeklong event in collaboration with Kroger and Food Gatherers to raise donations for 1 million meals to feed food insecure families
- In Orange, NJ, a team member volunteered with Friends of Metcalf Park cleaning up and repainting park benches
- In Napa, CA, team members delivered 25 meals to homebound seniors
- In Tampa Bay, FL, a team member volunteered for a mobile pantry called Feeding Tampa Bay
Every contribution, big or small, plays a crucial role in our Season of Giving, allowing every team member to join our mission of community support.
Looking Ahead
Lightship and Acclinate plan to continue Season of Giving events in 2024 and beyond and have invited additional health-focused and clinical trial industry partner companies to join in this effort.
“At Lightship, we spend every day trying to incrementally make the lives of our patients better by the way that we’re delivering clinical trials,” says Ellie Stewart, senior manager of design solutions. “What’s special about the Season of Giving is that generosity goes a long way and creates a positive cycle that impacts everyone’s life — not just the patients that we’re serving. … I love our partnership because it’s creating this positive cycle … for giving back and making sure we’re very community forward and community focused.”
Contact us if you’d like to be part of our next Season of Giving days of service. Together, we can make an annual impact on the communities that give their time to research.