UnitedHealthcare Employees in Chico Support Catalyst Domestic Violence Services Through Month-Long Food Drive

• UnitedHealthcare employee food drive brings attention to October’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month
• More than two tons of food and $1,000 check donated to support Catalyst’s 28-bed shelter for women and children
• Community leaders, including local police officers and firefighters, join together to load food items into a large truck for delivery to Catalyst

CHICO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UnitedHealthcare employees in Chico have come together for the third straight year to collect food to support Catalyst Domestic Violence Services, a nonprofit organization that helps women and children in the region experiencing domestic violence and abuse. That effort culminated today with an event at UnitedHealthcare’s Chico operations center where employees, community leaders, police and firefighters loaded more than two tons of donated food into a truck that was delivered to Catalyst.

“The food and support provided by UnitedHealthcare and its employees have been critical to the operations of our shelter, truly helping people who depend on our services”

The food drive, started in 2010 by a UnitedHealthcare employee who is a domestic violence survivor, is part of a month-long effort by the company and its employees in the region to bring attention to domestic violence during October, National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

UnitedHealthcare also donated $1,000 to Catalyst, and the Annie B’s Community Drive fund will match a portion of the UnitedHealthcare donation. Named after the founders of Chico, Annie B’s promotes the act of giving by providing matching grants to numerous charities through its annual fund-raising drive.

“The food and support provided by UnitedHealthcare and its employees have been critical to the operations of our shelter, truly helping people who depend on our services,” said Anastacia L. Snyder, executive director at Catalyst. “We appreciate UnitedHealthcare employees’ leadership and support, and thank them for their amazing generosity and support within the Chico community.”

Several community leaders joined UnitedHealthcare employees and Catalyst to participate in today’s event, including Butte County Supervisors Maureen Kirk, Steve Lambert and Larry Wahl. Local firefighters and police officers lent their support to UnitedHealthcare employees and domestic violence survivors, helping form a line of volunteers to load the donated food into a truck for delivery to Catalyst.

“We applaud the generosity of the UnitedHealthcare employees who have worked so hard collecting food items to support Catalyst,” said Supervisor Kirk. “Their efforts will help victims throughout Butte County who rely on the services provided by Catalyst at such a critical time in their lives.”

Catalyst offers a safe house for domestic violence victims as well as counseling and legal assistance with restraining orders. Established 35 years ago, the nonprofit’s two drop centers provide services throughout Butte County in addition to its 28-bed confidential shelter and transitional housing program. Catalyst’s mission is to prevent and reduce the cycle of violence through crisis intervention and community education.

UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, serves more than 2.3 million Californians with a care provider network of 323 hospitals and more than 47,400 physicians statewide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the largest employers in Chico, operating a call center, servicing more than 2 millions calls annually for health plan customers across the United States. UnitedHealthcare established the Chico operations center in 1998 to enhance customer support for people who are enrolled in UnitedHealthcare health benefits plans across the country. Earlier this year, UnitedHealthcare announced it was expanding its Chico operations to more than 500 employees by hiring an additional 115 workers for the call center.

“UnitedHealthcare is grateful for the opportunity to work with Catalyst and community leaders to help raise awareness about domestic violence through this annual food drive. Every year, their generosity exceeds all of our expectations, and we thank all of them for coming together to collect food and get involved in our community to raise awareness about this important issue,” said Pam Jamian, UnitedHealthcare Chico site director.

About Catalyst
Catalyst is a nonprofit organization committed to serving the needs of all domestic violence victims and their children regardless of ethnicity, citizenship, language, religion, physical disabilities, sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status. Catalyst operates a 24-hour hotline for those in need at 800-895-8476. For additional information and to learn more about National Domestic Violence Awareness Month visit www.catalystdvservices.org.

About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 650,000 physicians and care professionals and 5,000 hospitals nationwide. UnitedHealthcare serves more than 38 million people and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.