Exelon : Foundation Supports Important Work of We Are Family

WASHINGTON
- Exelon awarded a $25,000 grant to We Are Family, a leading nonprofit dedicated to addressing service gaps for senior citizens in the nation's capital. The grant benefits We Are Family's efforts to provide resources, such as grocery delivery, and serve as advocates for hundreds of seniors, connecting them to essential support services.

'The outreach and care offered by organizations like We Are Family is essential to supporting the roughly one-third of America's seniors who live alone, often in isolation,' said Maggie FitzPatrick, Exelon's senior vice president of Corporate Affairs, Philanthropy and Customer Engagement, citing the U.S. Administration on Aging. 'Exelon supports organizations that keep our communities closely connected, and We Are Family's work provides a vital lifeline for our seniors.'

On May 20, FitzPatrick, a resident of northwest Washington, will join other Exelon and Pepco employees to deliver food to home-bound seniors who struggle to access affordable, healthy meals. They will join the more than 3,000 We Are Family community volunteers who have contributed to the success of the food delivery programs. In 2016 alone, We Are Family and its volunteers delivered more than 8,500 grocery bags, conducted 540 in-home outreach visits, donated hundreds of Thanksgiving baskets and holiday gifts and saved three seniors from eviction.

'Our volunteers work each day to create affinity and lasting connections between people of all walks of life and to foster a community that honors its elders - where neighbors look out for each other, where no one is forgotten and where everybody matters,' said Mark Andersen, co-director of We Are Family. 'We are heartened by Exelon's community leadership and contribution to our grocery delivery program, which helps seniors in D.C. live comfortably and continue aging with dignity.'

We Are Family was created in 2004 with a donation from multi-platinum punk band Good Charlotte and its ally, Positive Force DC, to leaders and community members in the North Capitol neighborhood. This unique intersection of people - young and old, black, brown and white, faith-based and secular - came together to address various gaps in senior care for their community. Since then, We Are Family has expanded the reach and impact of its services, which now serve the Shaw, Columbia Heights, Petworth and Adams Morgan neighborhoods.

Fortune recently named Exelon to its 2017 list of the World's Most Admired Companies, which, in part, recognized the company for social responsibility initiatives such as charitable giving to organizations like We Are Family. Last year, Exelon employees contributed more than 170,000 hours of community service, and Exelon companies and the Exelon Foundation donated more than $46 million to nonprofits - the largest amount ever for the company.