Colleagues of Mercy Home Health and Mercy LIFE collected cereal and peanut butter and jelly throughout January and February to provide meals for families at Mercy Neighborhood Ministries and other local organizations, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Black History Month.

The total donations will provide 2,925 bowls of cereal (about 450 boxes) in addition to 2,557 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (about 213 jars) for families in need.

Mercy Neighborhood Ministries, the main benefactor of the donations, responds to the needs of those who are underprivileged in the North Philadelphia community, especially women, children and persons with special needs. Mercy Home Health and Mercy LIFE are collaborating with the organization to provide in-home meals for families.

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The organization’s cereal drive takes place each year. Collections kick off on Martin Luther King Day in January and are delivered at the conclusion on Black History Month in February.

“Mercy Home Health and Mercy LIFE colleagues have an exceptional ability in coming together to help those in need, and this food drive is a perfect example of that,” said Dan Drake, senior vice president of continuing care for Mercy Health System. “We have an amazing community that supports us, and as part of our mission, we are proud and thankful to have the opportunity to give back to those less fortunate within our community.”

Mercy Home Health delivers a range of home-based health care services to more than 33,000 people annually throughout the five-county Philadelphia area, with the goal of restoring patients’ health and helping them achieve independence.

Mercy LIFE offers older adults a total solution for long-term care by providing medical and social services at home and at the Mercy LIFE Adult Day Centers, helping older adults maintain their independence. Mercy LIFE has provided community based long-term care in South Philadelphia since 2001, in North Philadelphia since 2009, to residents throughout Delaware County since January 2014, and most recently, the West Philadelphia community in 2016.

Both programs are part of Trinity Health, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation serving communities in 22 states.