Over the last four years BMS Re has been a passionate supporter and fundraiser for Covenant House, a non-profit organization that provides housing, support services and immediate crisis care to young people facing homelessness and survivors of human trafficking in the Americas. Covenant House is so much more than a place to sleep or get a meal; it’s a place that becomes a home, and the gratitude is overwhelming.
For many years Covenant House has conducted an Executive ‘Sleep Out’ event to raise awareness and support. Sleep Out is a night of vigil to increase awareness and raise funds where supporters sleep outside as an act of solidarity so homeless youth don’t have to. In 2015 Andrew Bustillo, then CEO of BMS Re and Chairman of the Covenant House Board of Directors, led a group that formed the dedicated (Re)Insurance Sleep Out, which encourages those in the insurance and reinsurance industry to participate. It takes place every September, regardless of the weather and participants spend an evening at the Covenant House New York facility, hearing some of the stories of the young people who have been helped and speaking to volunteers, staff and counselors who support the work. Volunteers then take their sleeping bags and cardboard boxes to begin their sleep on the street. In 2018 there were 16 teams and 92 participants who together raised over $400,000 – the BMS team has been the top fundraiser for the past two years raising over $105,000 each year and over $400,000 since 2015.
BMS Re is passionate about supporting Covenant House. Each year more people within the (re)insurance industry are being introduced to this charity’s work and are becoming advocates and raising money for youth facing homelessness. BMS encourages its employees to participate by offering paid days off for non-profit volunteering, company-sponsored travel to attend the Sleep Out and a non-profit match for charitable donations.
