AbbVie Bioresearch Center Improves Lives and Overall Living
Sponsored by: AbbVie Bioresearch Center
The phrase “home health” takes on an additional meaning for AbbVie Bioresearch Center in Worcester, MA.
The “health” part is obvious since the pharmaceutical company develops medications and solutions to enhance people’s lives. AbbVie produces 20 to 25 different products each year, including approximately a half-dozen commercially available treatments for patients worldwide.
But the “home” part is just as important. Because even though the company’s reach extends globally, AbbVie also works to enhance the daily life of those who live in the Worcester, MA community.
“In all that we do, our driving force is to make a remarkable impact,” AbbVie Senior Manager Jean Foster says. “And we’re looking to make that remarkable impact not only on the lives of patients, but also on the lives of the community we serve. We want to support everyone in our community and help the area continue to grow.”
AbbVie Bioresearch Center Has a Variety of Programs and Partnerships
AbbVie accomplishes this through a wide variety of programs, initiatives and partnerships, particularly with Worcester area schools. These include:
» Establishing the AbbVie Community Equity Scholarship, awarded to first-generation college students who plan on entering a STEM field.
» Partnering with Middlesex Community College to create a Learn & Earn program, where students can work at the AbbVie site while continuing their progress toward an associate degree.
» Maintaining a longstanding partnership with Quinsigamond Community College involving the development and implementation of a biotechnology certificate program.
» Holding an annual Week of Possibilities event, where employees help local schools improve or create facilities such as libraries, STEM labs and athletic fields.
» Accepting student interns through the Innovation Pathways Program.
» Helping middle-school students work on projects to be entered into the Massachusetts Science & Engineering Fair.
“We’re continuing to build our relationships with both the career centers, as well as key academic leaders of our many Worcester-based educational institutions,” AbbVie Bioresearch Center Strategic Operations Director Nicholas Willnow says. “We want to help students understand the pathways into the growing biotech sector in Worcester and the surrounding central Massachusetts communities.”
AbbVie Partners With Worcester’s Biotech Community
In addition, AbbVie partners with several organizations to promote Worcester’s vibrant biotech community. For example, AbbVie works with the nonprofit organization MassBioEd to provide on-the-job training through the Biomanufacturing Technician Apprenticeship Program.
Then there are all the employee resource groups that help spread AbbVie’s impact into the wider Worcester community. AbbVie partners with community organizations – including Veterans Inc., Habitat for Humanity, Pride Worcester and United Way – to enhance the quality of life for all the area’s residents.
“These groups support both our employees and our surrounding communities through celebrations of culture, informative speaker engagement opportunities and community events,” Willnow says. “We are very invested in promoting a strong culture centered on values of diversity and inclusion, and we are very proud of our employees who continue to give back to our community.”
