Humana Foundation gives $100,000 to area nonprofits
By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-11-25 09:48:56 | Word Count: 511
Like most nonprofits in the area, these are trying economic times for the Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee.
That's why Tuesday's donation of $25,000 to Second Harvest by the Humana Foundation is so vital to the food bank, which distributes food through partner agencies to 155,000 hungry people every month in an 18-county area.
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The Humana Foundation, through its East Tennessee Economic Recovery Grant program, awarded $100,000 to six nonprofit agencies during a breakfast Tuesday at the Foundry at World's Fair Park.
"We'll be doing business in the community, so we wanted to invest in the community," said Evans Looney, president of Humana of Tennessee.
"We want to support the incredible work of the East Tennessee nonprofit community."
Humana, the fourth-largest publicly traded health and supplemental benefits company in the nation, established a presence in East Tennessee about a year ago after acquiring Cariten.
"During these distressed economic times we want to make sure Humana is addressing the needs of the community," said Tim Moorhead, East Tennessee market practice leader for Humana.
During Tuesday's ceremony, Humana also awarded $15,000 to the East Tennessee Technology Access Center; $10,000 to Family Promise of Blount County; $25,000 to the InterFaith Health Clinic; $15,000 to the Safe Haven Center; and $10,000 to Volunteer Ministry Center.
Patty Ford, grants administrator for Second Harvest, said the $25,000 will go to the Food for Kids Program, which provides assistance to 7,462 school children in East Tennessee.
"Funding from most private foundation sources is down," said Ford. "Our national donations have been down about 30 percent over the last year. If anything it's getting worse and demand is up. We're always seeking new funding sources. We needed this so desperately."
Without the support of companies like Humana, Ford said services like the Food for Kids Program - a collaborative effort between Second Harvest and 167 elementary schools in East Tennessee - could face severe cutbacks.
"It's our most expensive program by far," said Ford. "It keeps kids at risk from going hungry over the weekend. We give them a backpack on Friday filled with enough food to keep them from going hungry over the weekend."
Nina Bowling, development director for the InterFaith Health Clinic in Knoxville, said Humana's grant couldn't have come at a better time.
"Due to the economy, donations are down tremendously," said Bowling, whose agency provides primary health care for the working uninsured and charges on a discounted sliding-fee scale.
"We're looking at the loss of several grants totaling about one-third of our budget - this is a godsend. We know Humana is new to the community, but we just appreciate them becoming partners to nonprofits."
