Panera Bread Makes Dough for Virtua
Panera Bread Coordinator Melinda Scott presents a check to Virtua executives (left to right) Richard Miller, president and CEO; Adrienne Kirby, VP & COO for Programs of Excellence; Stephanie Fendrick, assistant VP for Women’s & Children’s Program of Excellence; and Dr. Jim Dwyer, chief medical officer. The funds, collected from customer donations at six South Jersey Panera Bread bakery-cafés, will be used to support Virtua’s John M. Tedeschi Pediatric Institute.
Representatives from Panera Bread presented Virtua president and CEO Richard Miller with a check for more than $16,000 to support the John M. Tedeschi Pediatric Institute at Virtua. Panera Bread collected the funds throughout 2009 using collection containers displayed at six South Jersey Panera Bread bakery-cafés.
Virtua’s newly established John M. Tedeschi Pediatric Institute is a $25 million initiative designed to improve the health of children in the region, the state and throughout the nation, and to elevate Virtua's pediatric program to a world-class level. Named for Dr. John M. Tedeschi, a well-known pediatrician who has dedicated his life to the health and well-being of children, the Institute's goal is to keep children healthy and out of the hospital by ensuring that the highest level of wellness and preventative care is available in every community throughout New Jersey and beyond.
“We are tremendously grateful for this special support from Panera Bread and their generous customers,” said Miller. “The partnership Panera Bread has built with Virtua is more than in-store collection tins. We sincerely appreciate everything they do in the community to support us.”
Panera Bread founded Operation Dough-Nation in 1992 to formalize the company’s commitment to community involvement. One of the major activities of this community outreach effort is the Community Breadbox™ cash collection boxes. The Community Breadbox program ensures that donations made at Panera Bread feed back into the community. Cash donations made by customers in the bakery-cafés are distributed to local non-profit organizations.
“Panera Bread bakery-cafés in Cherry Hill, Delran, Marlton, Moorestown, Mt. Laurel and Voorhees collected donations from our generous patrons throughout 2009,” said Tammy Dwyer, Regional Marketing Director for Panera Bread. “We are honored to have this opportunity for Panera Bread to support Virtua and the worthy initiatives of their John M. Tedeschi Pediatric Institute.”
To learn more about the
John M. Tedeschi Pediatric Institute, contact the Virtua Foundation at (856) 355-0830 or
VHF@virtua.org.
For more information about Panera Bread, visit the company web site at
http://www.panerabread.com/.
Virtua is a comprehensive multi-hospital healthcare system headquartered in Marlton, NJ. Its mission is to deliver a world-class patient experience through its programs of excellence in cancer treatment, cardiology, orthopaedics, women's health, pediatrics, surgery, neuroscience and wellness. A non-profit organization, Virtua employs 8,400 clinical and administrative personnel, and approximately 1,800 physicians serve as medical staff members. Virtua has distinguished itself as one of the first Six Sigma organizations in healthcare, as an early adopter of clinical and digital technologies, and for its innovative partnerships with nationally renowned organizations such as GE Healthcare, Fox Chase Cancer Center and A.I. duPont Hospital for Children. It has been honored twice with the New Jersey Governor's award for Clinical Excellence and recognized with the Leadership Award for Outstanding Achievement by Voluntary Hospitals of America. Virtua has been honored as the #1 Best Employer in the Delaware Valley by the Philadelphia Business Journal and is the recipient of the Consumer Choice Awards by National Research Corporation. Virtua is proud to be the official southern New Jersey sponsor of the Go Red for Women and Start! Walking Movements. For more information, visit www.virtua.org or call 1-888-VIRTUA-3 (1-888-847-8823).