Hershey, Pa. -- Giant Food Stores announced a commitment of $1 million to Penn State Children's Hospital.
The gift will contribute to the expansion of Penn State Hershey Medical Center's campus, where it will be used for the new outpatient clinics and Primary Care Center of the Children's Hospital facility. The gift will help to make the environment of the facility to be child- and family-friendly for the estimated 250,000 children who will be treated there each year.
"Through a relationship that has spanned nearly 10 years, Giant has learned how very important Penn State Children's Hospital is to our community," said Tony Schiano, president and chief executive officer of Giant Food Stores. "For that reason, we are both proud and privileged to take a leadership role with our contribution. We make this on behalf of our 20,000 associates and all of our customers who have benefited so greatly from their services over the years."
"Giant Food Stores continues to set a wonderful example of philanthropy with their generous giving and unending desire to improve the already exceptional support provided to pediatric patients and their families," said Darrell Kirch, senior vice president for health affairs, dean of the College of Medicine and chief executive officer of Penn State Hershey Medical Center. "Giant's leadership gift will allow us to positively impact the lives of thousands of children and their families in the years to come."
Giant Food Stores supports Penn State, giving primarily to Penn State Hershey Medical Center, including year-round involvement with Children's Miracle Network (CMN). Since becoming a CMN corporate sponsor nationally in 1997, Giant has raised more than $1.7 million for CMN at Penn State Children's Hospital. All funds are raised through the annual sale of paper candle and balloon icons in 38 area Giant Food Store locations combined with proceeds from the annual "Our Kids" golf tournament. In addition, Giant supports Penn State Dance Marathon to benefit The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Children's Hospital, and has raised more than $750,000 for The Jake Gittlen Memorial Golf Tournament, which benefits the Gittlen Cancer Research Institute at Penn State College of Medicine.
Giant Food Stores LLC, headquartered in Carlisle, Pa., is one of the retail operating companies under Ahold USA, one of the leading supermarket operations in the United States. Giant currently operates 99 stores as Giant Food Stores, 161 stores as Tops Markets and 18 stores as Martin's Food Markets, along with a chain of 204 convenience stores. With nearly 40,000 associates, Giant serves a six-state market area. For more information about Giant Food Stores, visit the company's Web site at http://www.giantpa.com
Penn State Children's Hospital, the only children's hospital in central Pennsylvania and the region's only pediatric trauma center, houses 120 beds and treats more than 250,000 patients each year. The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) received the highest rating for its care in medical, surgical and trauma patients by the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Evaluations. This ranks the PICU among the top in the country.
Children's Hospital is the leader in several specialties including neonatal care, pediatric oncology, pediatric cardiology, pediatric surgery and pediatric trauma. For more information on Penn State Children's Hospital, visit http://www.pennstatechildrens.com