Published: July 06, 2011
UnitedHealthcare Employees and Salem Red Sox Host Food Drive to Strike Out Hunger, Sunday, July 17
SALEM, Va. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Volunteers from UnitedHealthcare and the Salem Red Sox will host a food
drive Sunday, July 17, at LewisGale Field. Ticketed fans who drop off a
non-perishable food donation before the 4:05 p.m. game will receive a
free ticket to the August 2011 game of their choice from the baseball
club.
The food drive is the culmination of a week-long effort in Salem and the
surrounding community to benefit Feeding America Southwest Virginia.
UnitedHealthcare is leading the activities as part of an employee
volunteering initiative, and in support of AARP's broader "Drive to End
Hunger" campaign, which seeks to end hunger among seniors.
Beginning July 11, the public is encouraged to donate non-perishable
food items to any of the following drop-off locations between 9 a.m. and
5 p.m.:
-
UnitedHealthcare - 3645 Thirlane Road NW, Roanoke, Va., 24019
-
LewisGale Field - 1008 Texas St., Salem, Va., 24155
-
LewisGale Medical Center - 1900 Electric Rd., Salem, Va., 24153
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Food Lion - 6619 Williamson Rd., Roanoke, Va., 24019; 28 Wildwood Rd.,
Salem, Va., 24153; and 1952 Washington Ave, Vinton, Va., 24179
"Today more than 6 million older adults nationwide face the
threat of hunger, including almost 80,000 in Virginia. We are grateful
for the opportunity to partner with the Salem Red Sox in the fight
against senior hunger," said Mike Weneta, Roanoke site director,
UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement.
According to AARP, 16 percent of Virginia residents reported not having
enough money to buy food in the last year. Virginia ranks 22nd
for the risk of senior hunger, with more than 5 percent of Virginia's
seniors at risk.
"On July 17, we'll be giving everyone who makes a food donation at
LewisGale Field a free ticket to an August Salem Red Sox game," said
Todd Stephenson, general manager, Salem Red Sox. "With support from the
community, we can help stop hunger in its tracks. Together we can feed a
hungry older adult and work on making senior hunger a thing of the past."
The company's food drive partnership with the Salem Red Sox comes in the
wake of its announcement earlier this year of a multimillion dollar
expansion of its operation in Roanoke.
For more information about the benefits of volunteering and to find
local opportunities to get involved, visit www.DoGoodLiveWell.org.
Follow @DoGoodLiveWell on Twitter or "like" Do Good. Live Well. on
Facebook.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to
helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health
care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and
sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers
the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers
and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with
more than 650,000 physicians and care professionals and 5,000 hospitals
nationwide. UnitedHealthcare serves more than 38 million people and is
one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified
Fortune 50 health and well-being company.
About Feeding America Southwest Virginia
Feeding America
Southwest Virginia was founded in 1981 and proudly celebrates 30 years
of community partnerships; fighting hunger... changing lives. The Food
Bank is an affiliate member of Feeding America (formerly America's
Second Harvest). For the last three decades the Food Bank's ultimate
mission has remained the same, eliminate hunger in the region. The
primary function of the Food Bank is to secure large quantities of food
for the hungry. More than 14-million pounds of food is channeled through
a network of more than 300+ partner agency feeding programs (in a
26-county and 10-city region) that provide food or meals to those in
need annually. Visit www.faswva.org
for more information.
About the Salem Red Sox
The Salem Red Sox, a subsidiary of
Fenway Sports Group (FSG), is a professional minor league baseball team
and a member of the Carolina League. Salem plays its home games at
LewisGale Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark. The 5,300-seat ballpark
opened in August 1995, and has hosted more than 3 million fans since the
stadium's inaugural game. With 12 skyboxes, a stadium club and multiple
picnic areas, LewisGale Field is one of the premier facilities in the
Carolina League. For more information, visit www.salemsox.com
or call 540-389-3333.

UnitedHealthcare
Courtney Johnson, 612-702-7703
Courtney_T_Johnson@uhc.com
or
Salem
Red Sox
Dennis Robarge, 540-389-3333
drobarge@salemsox.com
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