Philadelphia, PA — The Independence Blue Cross Foundation (Independence) has donated $100,000 to the nonprofit Philadelphia Police Foundation (PPF) to provide new state-of-the-art bulletproof vests to the Philadelphia Police Department. The gift, enough to purchase 120 bulletproof vests, is the largest corporate gift the PPF has ever received to replenish the police department’s body armor.
The donation was jointly announced during a press event today at Independence headquarters in Philadelphia by Daniel J. Hilferty, Independence president and CEO; Maureen Rush, PPF president and the vice president for public safety and superintendent of police at the University of Pennsylvania; and Charles Ramsey, Philadelphia police commissioner.
“The brave men and women in the Philadelphia Police Department put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe,” said Hilferty. “This gift will help protect our brave officers and keep them safe.”
“The Police Foundation is grateful to Independence Blue Cross for its concern for the health and safety of our men and women in blue,” Rush said. “I encourage other major companies in our region to follow Dan Hilferty’s lead and make an investment in the safety of our city by supporting the Philadelphia Police Department through a donation to the Philadelphia Police Foundation.”
During the event, Hilferty indicated that today’s contribution is the start of a longer-term commitment to help the PPF replenish needed vests each year for the city’s 6,500 police officers.
The bulletproof vests need to be replaced every five years, but current city and federal budgets do not fund replacement vests. Raising money for body armor is one of PPF’s key objectives in providing funding for nonbudgeted equipment, materials, and training for the Philadelphia Police Department.
About the Philadelphia Police Foundation
The Philadelphia Police Foundation was established in 1999 by civic and corporate leaders in the Philadelphia region as “A Force Behind the Shield.” The Foundation’s primary focus is to assist the officers of the Philadelphia Police Department by funding urgently needed special programs, equipment and community endeavors not provided in the City of Philadelphia’s annual budget.
About Independence Blue Cross
Independence Blue Cross is the leading health insurer in southeastern Pennsylvania. With our affiliates, we serve more than 9 million people in 25 states and the District of Columbia. For more than 75 years, we have been enhancing the health and wellness of the people and communities we serve by delivering innovative and competitively priced health care products and services; pioneering new ways to reward doctors, hospitals, and other health care professionals for coordinated, quality care; and supporting programs and events that promote wellness. To learn more about how we’re changing the game, visit www.ibx.com. Connect with us on Facebook at ibx.com/facebook and on Twitter at @ibx. Independence Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
Media contact
Lisa Yoon
Independence Blue Cross
215-640-7701 (office)
Lisa.Yoon@ibx.com