In response to goodwill shown by the Philadelphia community during the partial federal government shutdown in January, Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) has distributed donations to local charitable organizations.
“We celebrated the generosity of Philadelphia businesses, citizens, elected officials and charities, who volunteered and donated their resources to support our federal workers,” said Maryanne Mahoney, Director of Government Relations and co-chair of the Airport’s federal employee food pantry initiative.
The benefiting charities included Aid for Friends, Hub of Hope, Philabundance and the Liberty USO. Donations included three pallets of food and more than $5,000 in gift cards donated by area businesses. The Transportation Security Administration also helped collect and gather donations. Many of the donated items were surplus from the donations collected and gathered during the government shutdown.
“We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for our federal team members during a challenging time and this was our turn to pay it forward and give back to those who could use a helping hand,” said Airport CEO Chellie Cameron.
When the PHL federal employee food pantry opened in January, it served more than 1,000 federal workers with food, personal care products, toiletries, gift cards and more. The Airport would like to thank the following organizations, whose donations made the giveback a philanthropic success:
• Brown’s ShopRite
• Dunkin Donuts
• Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association
• Grocery Outlet Bargain Market
• Philadelphia Animal Hospital
• Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
• The Fruit Guys
• Transportation Security Administration
• Visit Philadelphia
• Wawa
“I am so proud that we were able to parlay the kindness we received back into the Philadelphia community,” said Renee Tufts, Airport Security Manager and co-chair of the food pantry initiative.
“Our officers told me that when the shutdown was over, they wanted to give back personally,” said TSA Federal Security Director Gary Renfrow. “Today we did just that.”
