Local bank donates $10,000 to Quakertown area food security initiative, leads financial literacy effort
PERKASIE, PA (July 2020) – Penn Community Bank, the largest mutual bank headquartered in Southeastern Pennsylvania, has once again partnered with St. Luke’s University Health Network to ensure no Quakertown-area child goes without a nutritious lunch during the summer months.
“As a community-first financial services provider, Penn Community Bank is committed to serving as a catalyst for positive change. We live out our mission by serving as a trusted and essential partner that meets people where they are – including in partnering with St. Luke’s to provide summer meals for the Quakertown community,” said Jeane M. Vidoni, President and CEO or Penn Community Bank. “We are proud to join with other community-focused organizations to ensure food insecure kids in our community have access to healthy meals this summer.”
“Penn Community Bank is a leading sponsor of St. Luke’s Healthy Kids, Bright Futures Summer Meals Program. Their continued investment enables St. Luke’s Quakertown | Upper Bucks Campus to address the health risks and long-term impact food access creates for at-risk children over the summer months,” said St. Luke’s Quakertown | Upper Bucks Campus President, Dennis Pfleiger. “We are proud to partner with strong leaders like Penn Community Bank to improve the health and wellbeing of our community.”
The program, launched in 2019, was created in response to St. Luke’s University Health Network’s Community Health Needs Assessment which found over 50% of Quakertown Area School District students are eligible for free and reduced meals during the academic school year and may lack sufficient food during the summer months. Prior to COVID-19, one in three children were hungry and health experts believe the pandemic will only make matters worse.
In addition to providing critical funding for the program, Penn Community Bank is donating financial literacy educational materials for children of all ages to promote good financial habits. Each year, the bank gives five percent of its net income to local organizations that focus issues including financial literacy and food security.
The Quakertown Summer Meals Program will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays, June 30 – August 21, 2020, from 11:30 am to 1 pm, at the bus drop-off location for Quakertown Community High School. During the last week of the program, St. Luke’s will be offering the Summer Meals Program at the St. Luke’s Quakertown campus from Monday, August 24, 2020 through Friday, August 28, 2020.
Photo Caption (L-R): Melissa Siegfried – Director of Development, St. Luke’s University Health Network; Stuart Bush – Executive Director of The Open Link; Dennis Pfleiger – President, St. Luke’s Upper Bucks Quakertown Campus; Kathy Ramson – St. Luke’s Network Director Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Initiatives; Todd Hurley – Chief Relationship Officer, Penn Community Bank; Ashton Rosenberger – Recreation Coordinator, Quakertown Borough Parks & Recreation.
About Penn Community Bank: Penn Community Bank holds more than $2 billion in assets, employs more than 350 people, and offers banking, lending and investments at 24 bank branches and two administrative centers throughout Bucks and Montgomery counties, Pennsylvania. As an independent, mutual financial institution, Penn Community Bank is not publicly traded and operates with its long-term mission in mind: to help businesses grow and prosper, to provide financial resources to individuals and families throughout their lifetimes, to strengthen the local economy, and to partner with local organizations to act as a catalyst for positive growth in every market it serves.