02.04.21
Allied Payment Network Extends Giving Program; Increases Goal to Deliver 5,000 Meals by Month-End
Michelle Rehm, Director of Marketing, Allied Payment
Fort Wayne, Ind.–(February 4, 2021)—Ralph Marcuccilli can see—through real-time analysis—the toll the pandemic takes on consumers’ pocketbooks. His company, Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Allied Payment Network (Allied), processes millions of digital payments for community banks and credit unions nationwide. The data these payments generate reveals that a large percentage of Americans are strapped for cash. Last December, Marcuccilli, who is founder and CEO of Allied, sprang into action to help those in his community impacted most by the pandemic—frontline hospital workers, first responders and restaurant owners—by starting a fundraising and meal delivery program, called “Be an Ally to our Fort Wayne Heroes.” Marcuccilli’s initial goal was to raise enough funds to sustain meal delivery throughout the holidays. However, thanks to a tremendous outpouring of support, his efforts continue into February 2021, and now he has a new goal: to raise enough money to deliver a total of 5,000 meals by the end of February.
Since December 4, 2020, Allied has delivered 3,688 meals to workers at Three Rivers Ambulance Authority, as well as Fort Wayne hospitals Parkview Regional Medical Center, Parkview Hospital Randallia, Dupont Hospital, Lutheran Hospital, and St. Joseph Hospital. At a cost of approximately $7 per meal, the company hopes to raise an additional $8,800 to add to their funds on-hand and meet the new goal.
“Community is everything to us,” said Marcuccilli. “Learning about the hardships our local heroes were enduring due to COVID-19—like nurses not able to leave their units to eat—was a call to lend support. By providing meals, we want to help those working on the frontlines of this pandemic, and also support local restaurant owners, whose patronage has been disrupted.”
Fort Wayne-based Gratitude Catering and Mancinos Pizza and Grinders have prepared the majority of the meals Allied has ordered, and also donated additional meals. Allied employees and other local companies, including Summit Brands, Sweetwater Sound and Chuck & Lisa Surack, and Fort Financial Credit Union, have also provided financial resources.
“As our co-workers care for the community, it’s heartwarming to see the community care for them in return,” said Hallie Custer, Corporate Human Resources Director for Parkview Health. “Thanks to Allied Payment Network and many generous donors, hundreds of meals were donated to our hospitals in December. We are grateful for their generosity and appreciate everyone’s support.”
Mike Bureau, Chief Operating Officer of Three Rivers Ambulance Authority-Operations Division, added, “We have been deeply humbled by the outpouring of support and appreciation shown by ‘Fort Wayne Heroes.’ The wonderful meals they provided brought smiles to the faces of the team who serve Fort Wayne with tireless dedication.
Thank you for the thoughtfulness and generosity you have shown TRAA-Operations!”
Anyone wishing to help Allied reach its new fundraising goal by February 28 can make donations through its GoFundMe fundraiser page (http://AlliedPayment.com/fort-wayne-heroes), which can be found by searching for Fort Wayne Heroes on the GoFundMe.com website. One hundred percent of the funds raised will be used to underwrite the cost of the meals.
About Allied Payment Network
Allied Payment Network is an industry-leading provider of emerging bill pay technologies to the financial services industries. For more information, visit www.AlliedPayment.com.
Contact Information:
Allied Payment Network, Mary Hembree, fortwayneheroes@alliedpayment.com, 3201 Stellhorn Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46815, 260-442-2116
Corporate Sponsors:
- Summit Brands, 6714 Pointe Inverness Way, Suite 200, Fort Wayne, IN 46804
- Sweetwater Sound, Inc. and Chuck and Lisa Surack, Heather Herron, Vice President of Corporate Communications, 5501 US Highway 30 W, Fort Wayne, IN 46818, (260) 432-8176 ext. 1030
- Fort Financial Credit Union, Amy Hart, Marketing Manager, (260)432-1561, 3102 Spring St., Fort Wayne, IN 46808, www.fortfinancialcu.org
- Gratitude Catering, Jan Vardaman, jan@gratitude-catering.com, 260-433-6828
- Mancinos Pizza and Grinders, Tabitha Gray, 1025 W Coliseum Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN 46808, MancinosTabitha@gmail.com, 260-471-1715
