Highmark Bright Blue Futures Awards program grants over half a million dollars to nonprofit organizations expanding access to health care across Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, and Delaware
Sept. 15, 2025 | PITTSBURGH
PITTSBURGH (Sept. 15, 2025) — Nonprofit organizations across Highmark Health's footprint, which includes Pennsylvania, western and northeastern New York, West Virginia and Delaware, received awards today for their commitment to expanding access to vital health care services through the enterprise's third Highmark Bright Blue Futures Awards program. Made possible by the Highmark Foundation, the awardees received grant funding totaling more than half a million dollars.
The Highmark Health headquarters in downtown Pittsburgh will illuminate a vibrant, bright blue from dusk to dawn to honor the outstanding organizations, programs and collaborative efforts that have built healthier communities across Highmark's footprint.
The Highmark Bright Blue Futures Awards Program launched in 2023 as an expansion of Highmark's corporate giving and community involvement program, Highmark Bright Blue Futures. This program is designed to ensure healthier, brighter, stronger futures for all and aims to improve outcomes in Community Health and Community and Economic Resilience.
"The Highmark Bright Blue Futures Awards program recognizes organizations that don't just promise change, they deliver it by expanding access to vital care," said Kenya T. Boswell, senior vice president of Community Affairs for Highmark Health and president of the Highmark Foundation. "By investing in their outcome-driven initiatives, we're fostering sustainable solutions that will translate into tangible improvements in community health."
This year trusted local community leaders were asked to nominate nonprofit organizations in their region that are doing exceptional work in expanding access to health care. As a result, the following organizations received a Highmark Bright Blue Futures Signature Award:
Beacon Clinic for Health and Hope (Harrisburg, Pa.)
Beacon Clinic provides free, culturally competent primary health care to uninsured adults in Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry counties in Pennsylvania. Services include disease management, onsite prescriptions, health education and a "Food as Medicine" program, removing barriers to care and promoting health equity for a diverse community; 75% residing in Harrisburg.
Ebenezer Medical Outreach, Inc. (Huntington, W.Va.)
Ebenezer Medical Outreach is a free, charitable clinic for the uninsured, underinsured and underserved in Cabell and Wayne counties. They offer primary and dental care, a community pharmacy and specialty care to eligible patients. In 2024, they served over 500 unique individuals through 1,710 medical clinic encounters and 244 dental clinic encounters and filled over 5,000 essential prescriptions.
Gerard Place (Buffalo, N.Y.)
Gerard Place, located in Buffalo, NY, focuses on breaking poverty cycles by offering housing, supportive services, community education, and outreach. Their Healthy Mom & Baby program offers care around pregnant and first-year moms. The Workforce Development Collaborative provides training and certification in living-wage careers. Gerard Place aims to provide individuals with the tools they need to gain self-sufficiency and improve their quality of life.
Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic (Lancaster, Pa.)
Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic improves the lives of individuals with craniofacial conditions through comprehensive, coordinated treatment. As an independent nonprofit, the clinic treats patients regardless of their ability to pay. Annually, they provide care for approximately 2,500 individuals with cleft and craniofacial conditions and provide dental services to an additional 4,500 pediatric patients with special health needs.
Squirrel Hill Health Center (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Squirrel Hill Health Center provides patient-driven, high-quality, comprehensive primary and preventive health care and support services, without regard for patients' insurance or financial status to an underserved population. The center has three sites and a mobile medical unit. Their key objective is to lower barriers to care for everyone they serve.
Additionally, the following organizations received grants through the program's Star awards, recognizing organizations and programs that have demonstrated promise through unique ideas to impact community health. The list of awardees is below:
- Amanecer Counseling & Resource Center (Wilmington, Del.)
- Buffalo Go Green (Buffalo, N.Y.)
- Community Health Net (Erie, Pa.)
- Connect Center for Youth (Cohoes, N.Y.)
- Family Services of Warren County (Warren, Pa.)
- La Red Health Center (Georgetown, De.)
- Maternal and Family Health Services (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)
- North Star Child Advocacy Center (Parkersburg, W.Va.)
- JFCS UpStreet (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
On September 16, the Highmark Foundation will host its second Highmark Bright Blue Futures Thought Leadership Forum, gathering current and past awardees, community leaders and forward-thinking advocates to share insight on how every individual can play a part in improving access to health care.
For more information about Highmark Bright Blue Futures, visit www.highmark.com/brightbluefutures.About Highmark Foundation
The Highmark Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private, charitable organization dedicated to improving the health, well-being, and quality of life for individuals who reside in the communities served by Highmark, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. The Foundation fulfills its mission by awarding high-impact grants to charitable organizations that implement evidence-based programs aimed at improving community health. Central to the Foundation's mission is identifying and continuously reevaluating the regions' prevailing health needs. By doing so, the Highmark Foundation remains at the forefront of those needs, well-equipped to pinpoint the issues that more urgently need support.
In 2021, the Highmark West Virginia Charitable Fund for Health and the United Concordia Dental Charitable Fund were established to further support the ongoing work of the Highmark Foundation.
In 2023, the Highmark Bright Blue Futures Awards were established as an awards and recognition program to honor exceptional organizations demonstrating a measurable, lasting impact in community health through outcomes-based initiatives.
Visit www.highmarkfoundation.org for more information and follow the Highmark Foundation on LinkedIn.
Contact:
Emily Kostelnik
Highmark Health
412-552-0402
emily.kostelnik@highmarkhealth.org
Maddie Goerl
Highmark Health
724-799-4441
madison.goerl@highmarkhealth.org