Wilmington, Del. (March 15, 2023) – Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware is pleased to announce its first quarter BluePrints for the Community grant recipients. BluePrints for the Community is a donor-advised fund at the Delaware Community Foundation and has invested over $35 million to improve health outcomes across the state.
“By targeting specific aspects of health and well-being, we’re advancing real change for Delaware communities,” said Nick Moriello, president of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware. “We’re proud to support the great organizations making a difference throughout our state.”
BluePrints aims to increase access to care and reduce health disparities throughout the state. Programs and projects typically demonstrate progress in one or both goal through one of the following focus areas: healthcare access, economic stability for families and individuals, social and community context, neighborhood and built environment, and health workforce.
“Health is a multi-faceted component of living well and BluePrints continues to make every effort to address the evolutions, changes, and emergences of the needs we see in our communities. We thank our nonprofit partners for their steadfast commitment to a healthier Delaware,” said Rita Landgraf, chair of the BluePrints for the Community Advisory Council.
BluePrints grants awarded in quarter one:
- Vision to Learn: funding supports free vision screenings, eye exams and glasses to students in high need communities
- Community Education Building: funding supports student and family access to physical and behavioral health resources and navigation support of available benefits and services
- Jewish Family Services of Delaware: funding supports provision of specialized, culturally and trauma-informed therapeutic services to youth
- West End Neighborhood House, Inc.: funding supports Bright Spot Farms growing and distributing fresh produce to families in Wilmington, as well as to aging Delawareans who have limited access to fruits and vegetables
- Lutheran Community Services, Inc.: funding supports Delaware Food Farmacy in providing food-based care whereby nutrition can support improvements in chronic conditions
- Make-A-Wish Philadelphia, Delaware & Susquehanna Valley: funding will support making wishes a reality for critically ill children and their families
- Down Syndrome Association of Delaware: funding will support outreach and community support services to families with a Down Syndrome diagnosis
- Urban Bike Project of Wilmington: funding will support free physical health activities and other wellness resources being provided at a series of Open Streets Wilmington events
- St. Patrick’s Center, Inc.: funding will support the critical food needs of St. Patrick’s clients
- Odyssey Charter School: funding will support the school’s interdisciplinary controlled agriculture curriculum and hydroponic farming that provides significant fresh produce contributions to food deserts in the area”Highmark Delaware is an important partner in addressing community needs throughout the state,” DCF President and CEO Stuart Comstock-Gay said. “Highmark’s generosity and expertise is advancing equity in health care and making Delaware a better place for all of us to live.”
Please click here for a PDF with details on each award.
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About Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware serves approximately 470,000 members through the company’s health care benefits business. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. For more information, visit www.highmarkbcbsde.com.
About BluePrints for the Community
BluePrints for the Community, the donor-advised fund of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware at the Delaware Community Foundation, has contributed over $33 million to the community since its inception in 2007. It was established to serve Delawareans, with emphasis on increasing access to care, reducing health disparities and addressing social determinants of health. Learn more at www.highmark.com/blueprints.
About the Delaware Community Foundation
The mission of the Delaware Community Foundation is to improve the lives of the people of Delaware by empowering and growing philanthropy through knowledge and relationships, now and in the future. As a facilitator, information resource and manager of charitable funds, the DCF helps communities and philanthropists focus charitable resources for the greatest community benefit statewide. For more information, visit delcf.org or call 302.571.8004.