Helping employees like Mary Lou—whether through its health plan or its flexible work arrangement program—is a definite priority for Dow Corning. “It’s challenging enough for working parents to achieve balance in their busy lives. When you add the extra complexities of caring for a child with special needs, that challenge is multiplied,” says Derek O’Malley-Keyes, Human Resources Vice President. “Dow Corning provides extended benefits to assist these parents with the additional requirements they may encounter, and our employees appreciate the consideration.”
As 100 Best Companies like Dow Corning, First Horizon, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, and Booz Allen Hamilton know, assisting employee parents of special-needs children goes well beyond good corporate policy. The programs help attract and retain dedicated staffers who feel that their company cares about them. But the real rewards are much more meaningful. Just ask Lori Key’s son, Craig, who, fifteen years after that first diagnosis of antibiotic-resistant meningitis, is grateful his mom was close by.
“All those times I was in the hospital, having my mom by my side made me less scared,” explains Craig, now fifteen and the proud owner of a red belt in karate. Last Mother’s Day he gave Lori a very special gift: karate lessons of her own. Today, they practice martial arts together. And even when Craig’s days are filled with less fun activities, like doctors’ visits, he finds comfort in knowing that Lori will be right there with him. “It means a lot that she can take time off from her job to go with me to doctors’ appointments, take care of me when I’m sick, and just be my mom,” Craig says. “It makes me feel special.”
By Jennifer Haupt
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