Dignity Health's Project Humankindness Highlights the Collective Impact of its Longstanding Community Benefit Programs

Financial Contributions and Volunteerism Comprise More than 20 years of Improving Communities

SAN FRANCISCO – April 8, 2014 – Dignity Health, one of the largest health systems in the nation, has introduced Project Humankindness to highlight and engage others in its mission to improve the overall quality of life. Project Humankindness showcases the collective impact of the work that Dignity Health and its caregivers have been doing outside the hospital walls over the past 20 years, including grants, investments, and volunteerism.

"At the heart of Dignity Health's mission is a dedication to improving the quality of life in the communities we are so privileged to be a part of," said Lloyd H. Dean, Dignity Health's president/chief executive officer. "In bringing all of these programs under the umbrella that we're calling Project Humankindness, we are able to celebrate the great work being done in these communities and invite others to join us."

Dignity Health's commitment to the communities it serves has included financial and volunteer support to hundreds of programs. Since 1992, the health system has provided grant awards to 185 nonprofit organizations, totaling more than $88.1 million, and low-interest loans to 3,006 projects totaling $51.3 million.

Most recent Project Humankindness initiatives include:

• The Great Kindness Challenge, a bullying prevention program dedicated to creating a culture of kindness in schools nationwide, in which Dignity Health has been a presenting sponsor and active participant in for the past two years. The Great Kindness Challenge asks students to complete 50 acts of kindness in one week, and in 2015 more than 4,000 schools participated, totaling 2 million students and amounting in 100 million acts of kindness nationwide. As a large supporter of this kindness initiative, Dignity Health's more than 65,000 executives, employees, and physicians accepted the Great Kindness Challenge in its hospital, clinic, and office settings as well, effectively "matching" the students' good deeds taking place in schools.
• Project Humankindness also featured a $450,000 donation made by Dignity Health to 17-year partner Project C.U.R.E. to send medical supplies to Sierra Leone, one of the areas hit hardest by the Ebola outbreak. Dignity Health volunteers in Phoenix packed the donation of medical supplies into a 40-foot container that arrived in Sierra Leone in February.
• Day on the Beach is an annual community event organized by Dignity Health employees who give their disabled patients an experience they wouldn't otherwise have. Dignity Health caregivers volunteered to help people with disabilities step away from the hospital to experience life at the beach, from kayaking to swimming activities.
• Hope Street Family Center in downtown Los Angeles was developed in 1992 as a community program of Dignity Health's nearby California Hospital Medical Center. Recognized as a national model for integrating impactful health care in the community, Hope Street Family Center is the fulfilled vision of a Dignity Health caregiver. Highlighting the work done here over the years, Dignity Health recently released a video to showcase the work done at the facility.

"Project Humankindness offers Dignity Health a meaningful way to talk about the needs that exist in our communities and to show just how life-changing even small acts can be," said Bernita McTernan, executive vice president of sponsorship, mission integration, and philanthropy at Dignity Health. "From free educational clinics and access to care, to safety and mobility assistance, we recognize the positive impact that thoughtful programs can have on individuals, their families, and the community."

To learn more about Dignity Health's commitment to improving the quality of life in the communities it serves, please visit hellohumankindness.org or join the Project Humankindness movement at facebook.com/dignityhealth.

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