Highmark makes 2 million contribution to support critical community organizations during COVID 19 pandemic

PITTSBURGH (April 2, 2020) — Highmark Inc. today announced $2 million in grants to organizations focused on helping people in need throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our company's history is based on helping communities in times of need. And there's no greater time than now," said David Holmberg, president and CEO of Highmark Health. "The coronavirus has presented our entire nation with issues never faced by any of us in our lifetimes. Our contributions are designed to tap into organizations that are making a difference and help to sustain their work during these unprecedented circumstances."

Highmark's targeted contributions will focus on organizations in Pennsylvania and West Virginia addressing food insecurity through food banks with $575,000 in grants, $525,000 to human service agencies through COVID-19 relief funds, $700,000 to strengthen safety net providers through Highmark Foundation support and $200,000 to Delaware COVID-19 relief efforts.

"We are drawing from a variety of grant making streams at Highmark to have a unified and more impactful approach to help address critically-pressing, community-focused pandemic needs," said Dan Onorato, executive vice president of Corporate Affairs at Highmark Health. "Now more than ever, we can work to align funding in the most needed areas."

According to Onorato, the $2 million in funding comes from Highmark's corporate community giving programs and the Highmark Foundation.

To support food insecurity through food banks in the Pennsylvania and West Virginia, the following grants recipients have been identified.

In Pennsylvania, grants are being made to:

In West Virginia, grants are being made to:

Human services organizations have also been chosen to receive support in Pennsylvania, including:

Also in Pennsylvania, grants from the Highmark Foundation will support 25 community-based health care organizations, focused on strengthening their capacity to serve those who are uninsured and underserved:

In West Virginia, grants from the Highmark Foundation will support 10 community-focused health care organizations with funding to meet the needs of uninsured and underinsured individuals. Those organizations include:

In Delaware, $200,000 will go to strategic COVID-19 emergency response initiatives in the state.

"We are routinely talking to community leaders, as well as state and local officials in the communities, we serve. We will continue to assess community needs as the pandemic evolves," said Onorato.