Thank you to UPMC Pinnacle Foundation for their generous donation of $100,000 to help with our COVID-19 Crisis Response.  Earlier this month, we held a virtual check presentation with representatives from UPMC Pinnacle.

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UPMC Pinnacle Foundation Announces Donation to Central Pennsylvania Food Bank COVID-19 Relief Efforts

HARRISBURG, PA – (June 24, 2020) – UPMC Pinnacle Foundation announced a $100,000 donation to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank in support of COVID-19 relief efforts. The donation helped the Food Bank meet the 43 percent increase in community needs during the pandemic.

“At UPMC, it is our mission to serve our community. We realize that access to food and good nutrition are integral components of good health,” said Philip Guarneschelli, president, UPMC Pinnacle. “This donation will go directly toward alleviating the increasing food insecurity in our community.”

A portion of UPMC’s donation funded the increased meal distribution in Harrisburg. That effort, coordinated by the Harrisburg City Police, supplied approximately 400,000 pounds of food throughout the shutdown. The donation will also help residents throughout the central Pennsylvania region, including York, Lancaster, and Carlisle.

“The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank is thrilled to accept this $100,000 gift from UPMC Pinnacle Foundation,” said Joe Arthur, executive director. “This gift will underwrite an enormous amount of work in the Harrisburg region and beyond and will provide healthy food for children and their families.  Thousands of families in central Pennsylvania will now have one less worry during this crisis – they will have access to meals thanks to the generosity of UPMC Pinnacle.”

“It is times like this when we must dig deeper to help our community,” said Meron Yermane, board chair, UPMC Pinnacle Foundation. “As we have spent more time at home recently, we are reminded that the time spent around the dinner table is when families are built and bonded, and our hope is that this gift provides that opportunity to many families in the region.”

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank serves communities in 27 counties in the central part of the state to fulfill their mission of fighting hunger, improving lives and strengthening communities.  Throughout the pandemic, there has been more than a 40 percent increase in food requests at the Food Bank. Looking forward, the Food Bank anticipates continuing to serve record-high levels of demand for many months to come.

To find the most up-to-date information about UPMC Pinnacle Foundation’s commitment to the community, please visit UPMCPinnacle.com/GivingBack.

About UPMC

A $21 billion health care provider and insurer, Pittsburgh-based UPMC is inventing new models of patient-centered, cost-effective, accountable care. The largest nongovernmental employer in Pennsylvania, UPMC integrates more than 90,000 employees, 40 hospitals, 700 doctors’ offices and outpatient sites, and a 3.8 million-member Insurance Services Division, the largest medical insurer in western Pennsylvania. In the most recent fiscal year, UPMC contributed $1.2 billion in benefits to its communities, including more care to the region’s most vulnerable citizens than any other health care institution, and paid $587 million in federal, state and local taxes. Working in close collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC shares its clinical, managerial and technological skills worldwide through its innovation and commercialization arm, UPMC Enterprises, and through UPMC International. U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside on its annual Honor Roll of America’s Best Hospitals and ranks UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh on its Honor Roll of America’s Best Children’s Hospitals. For more information, go to UPMC.com.