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Highmark Foundation announces grant support for Miller-Keystone Blood Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania

Jan. 25, 2023 | PITTSBURGH, Pa.

PITTSBURGH (Jan. 25, 2023) — Highmark Foundation representatives today announced a two-year grant totaling $120,000 to Miller-Keystone Blood Center (MKBC) at a press conference at the Center's Allentown location. This funding supports MKBC's Blood Donor Diversity Program, an awareness and outreach effort to increase the number of Hispanic blood donors in the region.

"The Highmark Foundation is pleased to support the Miller-Keystone Blood Center in such a vital initiative with this multi-year grant," said Yvonne Cook, president of the Highmark Foundation. "We're excited to continue our long-standing partnership with the Center to help improve the overall health of our community, which includes increasing critically needed blood donations."

The grant supports the addition of a Community Liaison Manager to MKBC's staff to facilitate the program, with the goal of raising awareness of the importance of blood donations, particularly within the region's Hispanic population.

"We are so thankful to the Highmark Foundation for partnering with us in this important community impact endeavor," said Peter J. Castagna, Jr., MKBC president and CEO. "This diversity initiative is an example of Miller-Keystone Blood Center deepening our roots in the downtown Allentown area, recruiting talent to assist in educating the community and strengthening the diversity of the blood supply for the hospitals and ultimately the patients that we serve."

With January being designated in the U.S. as National Blood Donor Month and the critical blood shortage currently impacting the nation, blood donations are being encouraged. For more information about MKBC, visit www.giveapint.org.

About the Highmark Foundation

The Highmark Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) private, charitable organization dedicated to improving the health, wellbeing, and quality of life for individuals who reside in the communities served by Highmark, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. We fulfill our missing 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 our region’s prevailing health care needs. By doing so, the Foundation remains at the forefront of those needs, well-equipped to pinpoint the issues that more urgently need support.

In 2021, two new restricted funds were established at the Highmark Foundation — the Highmark West Virginia Charitable Fund for Health and the United Concordia Dental Charitable Fund. These funds support the ongoing work of the Highmark Foundation across its footprint and beyond. For more information, visit www.highmarkfoundation.org.

Contact:

Bethany Ross
Highmark Health
304-347-7698
Bethany.ross@highmarkhealth.org