Quest Community Action Network (QuestCAN) – volunteer spotlights

My name is Francesca Harris and I am the Employee Engagement Specialist supporting 3 of our Esoteric labs at Quest: Athena Diagnostics, ReproSource, and Cleveland HeartLab. I have been a member of QuestCAN for 5 years and I have been a Co-Lead in Marlborough, MA for 3 years. I volunteer for QuestCAN because I love what this EBN stands for and I love that Quest cares about giving back to those who need it most. It is great to be part of a team that actively works to support our local community through volunteering, hosting collection drives, and fundraising (and I have a really awesome QuestCAN team at my site!). Bringing employees together for a common purpose is very heart-warming. And now during the pandemic, it’s more important than ever for us to find ways to help our communities and to come together to support one another—even if that means doing so in a virtual way until it is safe to be together in person again. Our volunteer team in Marlborough has been working hard to find fun and creative ways to virtually fundraise and support local nonprofits in need. I am grateful that Quest Diagnostics offers programs like QuestCAN and I am proud to work for a company that cares about giving back.

Whether it be with my church or QuestCAN, I have a passion to help others. I volunteer because it is an essential way of doing good for others in the community. In addition, it brings people together in the spirit of giving whether it be time, food, clothing, or other necessities for those less fortunate than us. In that spirit, we can find joy and see the joy in the faces of those who receive. The Good Lord has provided for me in abundance throughout my life and it is a pleasure to give back by helping others.

I have been involved with QuestCares (now QuestCAN) for about 10 years. When I first joined the Collegeville group, I helped with fundraising events and eventually grew into being one of our key leaders. From Super Bowl fundraisers to Superhero Walks for Cancer, Phillies Baseball Bingo, and Managers Pie in the Face, we here in Collegeville go far beyond just putting on an event to raise money. We engage our coworkers in the importance of helping others and at the same time have a lot of fun at our events. I encourage others to participate in QuestCAN to connect with their communities and to make a difference in people’s lives.

I have been involved with QuestCAN since I started at Quest Diagnostics. It is so important for me to give back to the communities in which we serve and make it a point to make a difference, whether it be the simplest gesture or something bigger and more impactful, it will always make an impact on someone’s life! My mom always instilled this in me, the most important thing is to give back! I am honored to continue her legacy of giving back and volunteering in our communities. There are many activities I love, but one of my favorites is going to the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in NYC and baking cookies for the cancer patients and their caregivers. Not only do we bake cookies, but we bring lunch and play games with them. It really brings a smile to all their faces and lets them “get away” a little during a hard time in their lives. I hope I can forever continue to help make a difference and give back to our communities.

I volunteer so that our community knows that Quest Diagnostics and ExamOne care. Our community connections are the best part of our charitable activities in the Lenexa BU. Establishing relationships locally with our primary charitable organizations truly makes our giving more enjoyable. Recently, our contact at the American Cancer Society connected our QuestCAN leadership team with a need for vaccine volunteers in the Kansas City area. We had tried to volunteer at our local health department but the event didn’t match well with us—there was a long process to get approved. We would never have known about this other need in the inner city if we had not been having regular touchpoints with our local ACS chapter. We have volunteered already at 2 vaccine events and have spread the “Quest Cares” message proudly!

I volunteer because I like to give back to the community and when I volunteer with organizations that are important to me and the community, I feel like I am making a small impact on others. It means a lot to know small actions impact a bigger picture. “The smallest act of Kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.” – Oscar Wilde

Why I Volunteer

I was raised in a family of volunteers. But we didn’t call it “volunteering” then, just “helping out others” when it was needed. So, I have tried to carry on those values my family lived into my adult life—both personally and professionally. One of the things I enjoy most about being involved in QuestCAN for the past 16 years is the opportunity to give back with my time and talents to worthy organizations. And it is an amazing way to show how much Quest and our employees care about the communities where we live and work.

This year volunteering has taken on an even more special meaning and mission for me. I lost my mom in January and if there was ever a “professional” volunteer, it was she. She was known for her giving spirit and made volunteering at several nonprofits her job after retiring. I decided to dedicate her birthday month of March to “Give Back Like Glenda”. And some of the first organizations I thought of were ones that I had forged relationships through QuestCAN and Quest’s Women in Leadership. I tried to do something meaningful each week and encouraged others to remember her legacy this way as well on social media. My husband and I gathered supplies for several local food pantries and pet shelters, made monetary donations to some of mom’s favorite organizations, and even visited the charity resale shop she volunteered at to thank the other volunteers. But the most rewarding part of the month was when a large group of friends and coworkers came together and worked several hours loading food into cars at a mobile food pantry. The food drive was organized by a local organization that has been a favorite of the Lenexa laboratory for years, Harvesters, Community Food Network. And I closed out the month of March by representing our Women in Leadership Heartland Chapter by volunteering at a vaccine clinic.

I am always proud to represent our company and my mom’s legacy by “helping out others” and appreciate the support and commitment Quest and ExamOne give me to do so.