SunTrust donates to Albany Area Primary Health Care, Second Harvest of South Georgia

ALBANY — The SunTrust Foundation recently presented significant donations to Second Harvest of South Georgia and Albany Area Primary Health Care.

AAPHC received a $20,000 donation personally delivered by Chris Misamore, market president of SunTrust Bank for South Georgia.

“The United Way Giving Campaign is our signature giving campaign at SunTrust,” Misamore said. “This year, the city of Albany was selected as one of the locations for additional giving dollars to be allocated, and we knew these funds would have the most impact here in our community.”

The donations from the SunTrust United Way Giving Campaign comes as southwest Georgia continues to rebuild from the storms of 2017 and Hurricane Michael in October 2018.

“I know how challenging it can be for a smaller community to rebuild after repeated storms,” Misamore said.

Misamore presented the donation to Shelley Spires, CEO of AAPHC. The funding went to the AAPHC Foundation.

“As the region’s largest community health center, our focus is on providing quality health care to everyone,” Spires said. “This donation from SunTrust United Way Giving Campaign will help us with our mission to care for our residents, while also expanding patient services even further.”

The AAPHC Foundation, the fundraising branch of AAPHC, funds expansions like vision care for students, additional colon cancer screening tests for patients, as well as expanding the school-based health center program across southwest Georgia.

“What we’re launching next is behavioral health into our school-based health centers, including a telemedicine program,” Spires said. “We want to have every available resource to assist local students in feeling their best for their school day.

“There’s no doubt that this donation will absolutely have a positive impact on our organization and lives across southwest Georgia. We appreciate greatly all that Chris and SunTrust have done for our organization and for our patients.”

Misamore said providing easier access to affordable health care and food options are what led his organization to select both AAPHC and Second Harvest as recipients this year.

“In our industry, we looked at what causes Americans the most stress in their daily lives. Obviously financial stress tops the list for almost every family, however, additional stressors include access to quality health care and how to access affordable, nutritious food,” he said. “These two organizations — AAPHC and Second Harvest Food Bank — are doing amazing work in our communities to close the gap when a resident needs either health care or an affordable place to receive food and nutrition.”

Second Harvest received a $30,000 grant from the SunTrust Foundation. Second Harvest, a member of the Feeding America network, is a rural food bank in Georgia serving 30 counties.

The grant is expected to enable Second Harvest to distribute food equivalent to 263,100 meals to help address the food insecurity crisis in the area.

“On behalf of the SunTrust Foundation, we’re committed to helping our communities thrive,” Misamore said. “Supporting nonprofit partners such as Second Harvest of South Georgia ease food insecurity will help ensure the well-being of people in the community.”

South Georgia has the highest rates of food insecurity in the state and among the highest rates in the nation. Officials said one in five in the area lives in a home without a stable source of food and that the problem is even greater among children, with one-fourth of all south Georgia children struggling with hunger.

Georgia’s Second Congressional District, which covers much of southwest Georgia, has among the highest rates of child food insecurity in any congressional district in the nation.

“These types of foundation gifts are so important to us in south Georgia because we deal with extreme levels of hunger and poverty daily,” Second Harvest CEO Frank Richards said. “Because of the generosity of our friends at the SunTrust Foundation, we will be able to help thousands of our neighbors in need.”

Jennifer ParksJennifer Parks