Executives of LaSalle Investment Management have found a way to help their communities in the time of COVID-19, joining with the American Red Cross to hold blood drives at the real estate manager's U.S. properties.
"We look for ways to help in our communities" as part of the firm's efforts to promote the "S" part of ESG in its environmental, social and governance efforts, said Jason Kern, Chicago-based Americas CEO at LaSalle. "With the pandemic, blood donations came to a screeching halt," Mr. Kern said.
And with elective surgical procedures now resuming in some places, there was greater demand for blood, leading to "a big supply/demand imbalance," he said.
LaSalle's asset management team came up with the idea in April to donate empty spaces in its buildings for the blood drives, and the firm's due diligence team launched a feasibility study.
The result is that LaSalle will be hosting blood drives at about 70 of its U.S. properties at least through 2021, mostly apartment buildings and industrial properties with unused spaces large enough to accommodate the drives.
The blood drives will be available only to the tenants of the building and people who work in the warehouses, Mr. Kern said.
"Like our competitors, there is not a critical mass of employees at our office buildings" due to the pandemic, he said. And while the blood drives are scheduled into next year, they might go beyond that and eventually, could include mobile blood units, he added.— Arleen jacobius
