Corporate Partner Spotlight Jim Stafford

Welcome to our  Corporate Partner Spotlight. Each month, corporate leaders share why they serve as advocates and ambassadors for Children’s National Hospital within their company and across the community. This month, we spoke with Jim Stafford of Costco Wholesale.

Jim Stafford is the Vice President & General Merchandising Manager, Northeast Region for Costco. Costco Wholesale has supported Children’s National for nearly 35 years through their annual Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals campaign and golf tournament. In that time, they have engaged their members, employees and vendors to raise more than $50 million to help Children’s National provide exceptional, compassionate care to kids. The Costco Wholesale Atrium, in the heart of the Children’s National main hospital, was named in recognition of their generosity and dedication to helping kids grow up stronger. Jim joined the Children’s National Corporate Advisory Council in 2020.

Why do you support Children's National as a member of the Corporate Advisory Council?

After many years of being involved with Children’s National, partnering as a Corporate Advisory Council member was a great opportunity to better understand ways Costco could expand support for Children’s National. Supporting their stated mission to excel in care, advocacy, research and education of children in the region and nationally is a great way for Costco to give back to the communities where we do business. 

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In what ways do you or your company support Children's National?

For many years, Costco has supported Children’s National through both our annual Charity Golf Classic and the May is for Miracles register campaign. We are honored to act as a conduit between our generous members and vendor partners to provide support for the great work being done by Children’s National.

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What challenges has your team faced during the pandemic? How have the challenges changed your approach to business in the community?

As was the case with many businesses, our first challenge was to ensure we could protect the safety of our employees and members. We were quick to implement a mask policy, social distancing and enhanced cleaning protocols that ensured we could deliver the goods and services to our members in as safe of an environment as possible.

These challenges did not change our approach to business, but rather reinforced many of our core values, such as taking care of our members, taking care of our employees and "doing the right thing."

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What insights do business leaders provide the nonprofit sector through their service?

Business leaders agree that the best way to achieve results is through continued collaboration with all stakeholders in the community. Children’s National does an excellent job facilitating this process and sharing their vision and goals with a diverse group of community and business leaders. This helps Children’s continue to deliver excellent care to the children that need it most.

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Children’s National is celebrating 150 years of caring for kids – what is your wish for Children’s National?

Keep up the outstanding work!

 

Corporate partners are key to helping us ensure every child can grow up stronger. If you or your company are interested in supporting Children’s National, please contact Foundation Vice President Julie Butler at [email protected].