BAYSIDE, NEW YORK (10/22/2019) – St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children has been awarded a $30,000 KidCents Regional Grant to provide nutrition education home care visits to children with special healthcare needs and their families.
“At St. Mary’s, our dedicated team of pediatric specialists are caring for children with complex and potentially life-limiting conditions,” said Daniel Devine, Manager of Institutional Gifts & Program Development at St. Mary’s. “This fragile population’s risk of malnutrition – and the critical medical complications that could arise from it – are of very high concern to us. Through this new grant partnership, the Rite Aid Foundation will be helping St. Mary’s Kids achieve and maintain a more nutritious lifestyle and go on to lead healthy, happy lives.”
Through the KidCents Regional Grant, a nutritionist will make monthly visits to homes of St. Mary’s home care patients and provide assistance to the patient and their family with meal planning and grocery shopping, as well as provide hands-on cooking demonstrations with fresh fruits and vegetables. Additionally, the nutritionist will help the patient and family develop a long-term individualized nutrition plan that accommodates the patient’s special needs.
The KidCents Regional Grant Program, which provides grants of $15,000-$30,000, funds specific out-of-school time programs focused on children’s nutrition, physical fitness and academic success. The KidCents program also annually supports a select group of more than 400 nonprofit, kid-focused organizations committed to improving the health and wellbeing of children living in the communities Rite Aid serves, as well as national organizations focused on critical children’s issues including The Fred Rogers Company, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and Folds of Honor.
In this cycle of KidCents Regional Grants, The Rite Aid Foundation awarded 233 nonprofit grants totaling more than $5 million. Grants were available in select counties in the following states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington.
“The Rite Aid Foundation is committed to being a caring neighbor and making meaningful differences for the children and families who live in the communities we serve,” said Tracy Henderson, director of The Rite Aid Foundation and charitable giving initiatives. “The Regional Grant Program significantly expands the reach and impact of our KidCents program, while enabling our partner organizations to provide critical out-of-school time programs that are vital to keeping children and adolescents on track for future success.”
KidCents Regional Grants support nonprofit organizations with programs that serve children, grades K-12, and improve quality of life in Rite Aid communities. The grants support three of KidCents’ primary focus areas for improving the health and wellbeing of children: healthy eating, active living and education. To be considered, programs and projects were required to take place during out-of-school-time with priority given to programs that support communities in need.
This is the second cycle of KidCents Regional Grants. In the first cycle, The Rite Aid Foundation awarded 180 grants, totaling more than $4 million.
Another cycle of KidCents Regional Grants will launch in 2020. To learn more about the program, visit riteaid.com/grants.
About The Rite Aid Foundation
Since its inception in 2001, The Rite Aid Foundation has awarded more than $63 million to nonprofit organizations. Additionally, Rite Aid, through the efforts of its customers, supplier partners and associates, has also raised more than $92 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals across the country since 1994.
About Rite Aid Corporation
Rite Aid Corporation, which generated fiscal 2019 annual revenue of $21.6 billion, is one of the nation’s leading drugstore chains with 2,464 stores in 18 states and pharmacy benefit management (PBM) capabilities through EnvisionRxOptions and its affiliates. At Rite Aid, we have a personal interest in our customers’ health and wellness and deliver the products and services they need to lead healthier lives. Information about Rite Aid, including corporate background and press releases, is available through the company’s website at www.riteaid.com.
About St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children
St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children Children has been the primary provider of long-term and rehabilitative care for New York’s most critically ill and injured children since the 1870s. St. Mary’s Healthcare System is one of only a handful of organizations around the country that is dedicated to providing intensive rehabilitation, specialized care, and education to children with special needs and life-limiting conditions.
