Philadelphia — To make it easier for Philadelphia Eagles fans to enjoy the Championship Parade on Thursday, February 8, Independence Blue Cross (Independence) will partner with SEPTA to sponsor free rides on the Broad Street and Market-Frankford Lines on that day.
“Independence shares in our region’s joy and excitement after the Philadelphia Eagles’ historic win. Like our hometown team, Independence is proud to be a Philadelphia institution — founded here 80 years ago, just five years after the Eagles,” said Daniel J. Hilferty, president and CEO of Independence Blue Cross. “We are pleased to partner with SEPTA to sponsor free subway rides to get fans safely to and from the parade. Like the rest of the region, we are bursting with pride over the Eagles’ victory and we look forward to cheering the team during the parade. Independence is Philly Proud!”
The parade will begin at the Sports Complex in South Philadelphia, continue north on Broad Street to City Hall, and then onto Benjamin Franklin Parkway toward the Philadelphia Museum of Art. To better control crowds with available personnel, and to allow for more efficient service, SEPTA will consolidate stops on rail lines. Regional Rail will operate inbound-only in the morning and outbound-only after the parade. For more information about traveling on SEPTA during the parade, visit www.septa.org/eagles.
Independence, the region’s leading health insurance company, has enjoyed a long partnership with SEPTA. The company and many of its more than 10,000 associates are also strong supporters of Philadelphia sports teams, including the Eagles.
Independence helped Eagles fans gear up for the Big Game by sponsoring the insertion of “underdog” mask cutouts in the print edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer on Feb. 2. The masks were so popular that Independence worked to find other ways to make them available to Philadelphia Eagles fans, including the distribution of thousands of free masks to:
- Passengers at Philadelphia International Airport
- Visitors to Center City hotels and in the Shops at Liberty Place through VISIT PHILADELPHIA
- Staff, patients, and clients of several local nonprofit organizations, including the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Gift of Life Family House, AstraZeneca Hope Lodge of the American Cancer Society, Police Athletic League of Philadelphia, Ronald McDonald House of Philadelphia, and Shriners Hospital for Children.
Independence also posted a digital version of the mask on its website so that anyone can print their own masks at home.
Media contact:
Grant Gegwich
Grant.Gegwich@ibx.com
610-909-3937 (cell)