The Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority (PCCA) and its employees helped alleviate hunger over the Thanksgiving holiday by partnering with Philadelphia-based non-profit Stop Hunger Now for an event that packaged more than 100,000 meals to help relief efforts after Hurricane Sandy.
Approximately 550 individuals, including 10 percent of the convention center staff, donated their time for the meal-packaging event on Nov. 24 at the convention center.
“Our staff is engaged in a variety of charitable activities throughout the year, but the damage from Hurricane Sandy struck close to home for many of our employees, so we are seeing and hearing about even more volunteer efforts from our staff this holiday season,” said Ahmeenah Young, president and CEO, PCCA.
Stop Hunger Now recently provided 171,000 meals for people affected by Hurricane Sandy. In the last seven years, the agency has given 78 million school lunches to children in 36 countries around the world. The organization’s meal-packaging events offer area residents an opportunity to make an immediate impact in the lives of thousands of families in the Philadelphia region and beyond.
The PCCA also encouraged individuals to bring canned goods and non-perishable food items to the convention center to help replenish food pantries that are low on supplies due to the hurricane relief efforts. Each year, the center donates $1 million annually for a hospitality education and training fund for students at five public schools and one parochial school in Philadelphia. In October, the center’s employees helped Philadelphia-area car dealers distribute thousands of coats to local schoolchildren.
The Pennsylvania Convention Center is located in Philadelphia, the “cradle of liberty” and the birthplace of the United States. Located in Center City, the convention center is situated at the center of the city’s many cultural offerings and world-class dining and entertainment scene.
A $787 million dollar renovation and expansion of the center, which received a gold-level certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, was completed in 2011, increasing its size by 62 percent. The convention center now is the 14th-largest facility in the nation and features the largest exhibit space and ballroom in the Northeast. The renovated convention center has won numerous awards and recognition, including a designation as the Best Government/Public Building of 2011 by the Engineering News Record of New York.
