BlueCross BlueShield Awards $575,000in Blue Fund Grants
-Brings Blue Fund’sTotal 2020 Investmentto $1.7M-

 

-Includes $100,000 for Blue Fund Microgrant Program to Support Non-Profits that Aid Community Members in Eight Counties of WNY-

Buffalo, N.Y. –BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York Blue Fund today announced $575,000 in grants to support several major health-based projects across Western New York, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a profound impact on non-profit organizations.

This grant cycle includes $100,000 in new BlueFund microgrants to 75 organizations across the eight counties of Western New York.

The community-based, not-for-profit health insurerpivoted its traditional 2020 Blue Fund grant cycle to support the most critical and immediate community needs as a result of the pandemic. Thisincluded a $1 million donation to the WNY COVID-19 Response Fund, a $100,000 donation to Say Yes Buffalo to expand and enhance the organization’s Health Homes Care Coordination program, and a $25,000 contribution tohelpProject Play WNY distribute more than 12,000 PlayPacks to Buffalo Public School students.

In total, BlueCross BlueShield Blue Fund invested $1.7 million into the community in 2020.

“BlueCross BlueShield has a long-standing history of supporting organizations dedicated to improving the lives of individuals in all eight counties of Western New York,” said David W. Anderson, President and CEO, BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York. “We’ll continue to pivot our Blue Fund grants to ensure we’re supporting the greatest needs in every corner of the region.”

BlueCross BlueShield launched the Blue Fund in July 2018, to support organizations and initiatives that work collaboratively to address key health areas and demonstrate enhanced measurable outcomes for the community. This cycle of grants, which are generated from the company’s investment reserves, not members’ premiums, brings the health plan’s total investment through Blue Fund to$6.9 million.

 

Below are the recipients of the 2020 Blue Fund Grants:

Back to Basics Outreach Ministries, Inc.                                          Amount awarded:$50,000

Purpose: To support the Buffalo Peacemakers HEAT Program (Health, Empowerment, Altitude, and Teamwork), which will improve physical and mental health in the vulnerable, hard-to-reach population of at-risk minority youth by building habits of physical activity, healthy eating, and attaining positive goals. 

Buffalo Center for Health Equity                                                     $125,000

Purpose: To support improving community health through healthy eating. The program aims to shift the health curve of pre-diabetics and early diabetics through a dietary intervention that will transform the eating habits of the participants and their families living in Buffalo’s least-healthiest ZIP codes. 

Buffalo Prenatal-Perinatal Network                                                            $100,000

Purpose: To support Healthy Families Buffalo, an evidence-based voluntary home-visiting model, designed to provide services to families that begins prenatally or at birth and continues through age five. 

Harmonia Collaborative Care                                                                       $100,000

Purpose: To support TeleMental Health Services, which assesses community needs, identifies partners and collaborators, and initiates a program that increases access to mental health and telemental health services for rural and Native Americans ages 13 and up. 

YMCA Buffalo Niagara                                                                      $100,000

Purpose: To support “Y on the Fly,” a mobile YMCA that delivers fun physical fitness activities, enrichment experiences, including STEM and literacy, and nutritious meals to families living in neighborhoods where food insecurity and a lack of youth development and wellness resources are most prevalent. This year-round program will be offered at indoor and outdoor sites in Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Lackawanna. 

In addition to awarding major grants to five local nonprofits, BlueCross BlueShield partnered with intermediary organizations in each county to help identify microgrant recipients for awards that will range from $500 to $2,500, totaling$100,000. Intermediary partners include Partnership for the Public Good in Erie County; United Way of Greater Niagara; Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation; United Way of SouthernChautauqua County; Allegany County Area Foundation; United Way of Orleans County; United Way of Wyoming County and United Way of Genesee County.

To learn more about Blue Fund, visit www.bcbswny.com/bluefund.