As the world’s largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, animal health and medical practitioners, the company was founded on the belief that it can be successful only when each of its core stakeholders — its Team Schein Members, customers, supplier partners, investors, and the larger society — also thrives.

For Henry Schein Canada, this means working to strengthen local communities while also improving access to health care. Through its Back to School Program, Henry Schein has supplied almost 3,800 underprivileged children in Canada with backpacks, clothing, and school supplies over the last few years, while at the same time providing dental screening and oral hygiene instruction. The company also supports its Canadian customers in improving oral health at home and abroad, donating more than $400,000 worth of equipment to Canadian dentists who travel to underserved areas in order to provide free care.

According to Cy Elborne, President of Henry Schein Canada, this kind of commitment to the larger society is at the forefront of the company’s ethos. “We really relish doing this kind of work,” says Elborne. “I’ve personally encouraged our over 800 Team Schein Canada Members to look at more creative ways to give back to our local communities. The response has been tremendous. This past year, each one of our local center business units across the country got involved in working with their communities. Our folks wound up participating in a whole range of projects, from painting schools to working in food banks.”

Why such a wide range of projects? Elborne looks at any engagement with the local community as a stepping-stone to oral health and, ultimately, overall wellness. “I’d like to think that by helping as much as we can to raise awareness in our local communities through all our different efforts, we are also making some contribution to the overall health of people in the communities  we serve — including raising awareness of the integral connection between oral health and overall health.”

Directly engaging its Team Schein Members in giving back to society is a critical ingredient to strengthening the communities in which Henry Schein operates. “Giving back to society isn’t just the right thing to do,” says Elborne. “It also engages our Team Schein Members to give their best to our customers and our company because they feel good about working for an organization that’s not only doing well from a business perspective, but also doing good in the larger community. People are more likely to join our company and stay because they see the potential of doing something meaningful beyond their day-to-day challenges at work. And, our customers are more likely to want to do business with us because they see us as a company with higher standards.”

Henry Schein’s efforts in Canada are just one part of the company’s global efforts to help health happen, which includes providing disaster relief in places like West Africa and Haiti and partnering with groups like the American Cancer Society to improve wellness, treatment, and prevention. By using its core competencies to give back to society, Henry Schein firmly believes that it is furthering the long-term success of the company while making the world a better place.