Sometimes, caught up in the everydayness of work, it can be hard to remember how important what we’re doing really is or how far the impact reaches. We at Free & Clear have helped almost 1 million people make positive changes in their lives! As a celebration and reminder, Free & Clear's Making A Difference (MAD) Committee created the Seeds of Change project--so we can have a tangible symbol of our accomplishments and remember that we each are helping to make that difference.

In Free & Clear's main lobby, we have placed a display case where our employees donate a seed for each life changed - and to help us all see what 1 million really looks like. I am happy to report that we steadily continue to add seeds to the 100,000 seeds already gathered last year.

The seeds are a wonderful analogy of the work that we do here.  Each day of work at Free & Clear our programs help many individuals quit tobacco and make many other healthy changes in their lives. Each time someone makes a healthy change in his or her life, it affects more than just that individual. For example, other smokers may become inspired to quit. Then friends, family members, and others in their community are less exposed to second-hand smoke. The positive health effects are great and ripple outward, and it goes beyond health too…when someone quits, they regain time, energy, money, and attention that they can now direct toward other goals and dreams.  Like a seed, each person we help to make healthy changes can grow and spread more positive change!

We love to hear stories about what the Seeds of Change display and reaching the milestone of 1 million participants means to each person, so we have invited those donating seeds to submit stories as well. We will be featuring different stories that are submitted as the Seeds of Change project moves forward. Here is our first:

November, 2009
Kathy Edris, Senior Manager, Clinical & Behavioral Sciences

My name is Kathy Edris and I have been working at Free & Clear for over 20 years (15 with weight management and 6 with tobacco). I have seen a lot of change during this time but the one thing that has remained constant is the positive impact we have on people’s lives.  I know some people can’t imagine staying at an organization for over 20 years but I can’t imagine being anywhere else.  For this reason, I have donated 1,000 seeds for each year I have had the privilege and honor to truly make a difference in the lives of others.

Check back soon for more!