GE Appliances is using its digital expertise to expedite deliveries of donor human milk to vulnerable infants.
GE Appliances helps nourish at-risk infants
YSN Staff
GE Appliances is lending its logistical know-how to a non-appliance cause: helping to bring donor human milk to premature and medically fragile babies.
The appliance powerhouse has partnered with Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast, a non-profit organization that collects, pasteurizes and distributes the milk to in-need infants. Recognizing the need for a more efficient tracking system, the milk bank reached out to GE for assistance in implementing Salesforce’s cloud-based software. The objective: to improve the tracking of milk donations, manage donor screenings more effectively and increase the milk available for families’ needs.
Leveraging its expertise in digital transformation and AI, GE helped created a streamlined and efficient system that has revolutionized milk donation tracking and management and has increased milk distribution to vulnerable infants.
A Game Changer
“This initiative is a game changer for our organization,” said Deborah Youngblood, CEO of Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast. “The new system will allow us to track milk donations more efficiently, manage donor information effectively and ultimately provide more life-saving milk to infants in need across the country.”
Studies show that breast milk decreases the rate of life-threatening disease for fragile newborns, improving the health of infants requiring NICU care. When a mother’s milk is unavailable, safe, screened and readily available donor milk becomes the essential and often lifesaving alternative.
Through access to Salesforce technology including Experience Cloud, Marketing Cloud and Sales Cloud, as well as GE Appliances’ existing Salesforce architecture and development expertise, milk bank staff and volunteers are supported at every step, from collection and pasteurization to distribution to hospitals.
Milk for the Many
Since the collaboration began, Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast has seen a 15% increase in milk production, enabling the non-profit to provide more milk for more families and keep more infants healthy.
In addition to the digital solutions, GE Appliances is also supporting the cause with essential cold storage units to ensure the safe preservation of donor milk for distribution.
“GE Appliances is redefining how our business engages with communities, focusing on skills-based volunteerism to make a transformational difference,” said Anne Limberg, GE’s senior principal digital technology program manager. “We assembled an all-women, global team with expertise in technology and project management to design a custom Salesforce platform tailored to the specific needs of Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast. This collaboration is a testament to how we engage differently as a company and how we can leverage our business relationships and expertise to support vital causes.”
Based in Newton Upper Falls, Mass., Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast provides more than 1.5 million essential feedings every year through more than 100 hospitals throughout the region.
