Shoulder to Shoulder Foundation Launches to Meet Urgent Needs of Individuals and Families

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Shoulder to Shoulder Foundation (S2S) today announced its launch as a non-profit organization serving high-need individuals and their families. S2S was founded and is led by several executives at Upward Health, an in-home multidisciplinary provider serving high-risk patients.

S2S was created to meet the urgent needs of individuals in the communities where Upward Health operates, serving those most vulnerable. While Upward Health attends to the physical health, behavioral health, and social barriers to care of its patients, the company often encounters challenges beyond what a medical provider can address. S2S makes grants directly to individuals to meet these needs, which range from assistance with housing and utilities to holiday gifts for children. These needs are carefully vetted, these individuals are supported over the long term, and this support can play a catalytic role of an individual’s health and wellbeing in a moment of acute need.

“It has been incredibly rewarding to see the impact that we’ve made on individuals and families,” said Jen Currao, Executive Director of S2S and Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief of Staff at Upward Health. “One example was helping a woman in Louisiana who had lost her job due to the pandemic and her home because of a hurricane. The resources we supplied enabled her to avoid eviction from her temporarily housing and maintain a roof over the heads of her two small grandchildren and herself.”

In operation since 2021, S2S recently obtained IRS recognition as a 501(c)(3) organization, which makes all donations to S2S tax deductible. It is now approaching institutions for additional funding. One hundred percent of contributions to S2S go directly to the needy individuals because Upward Health funds the full administrative costs for the organization.

“We have received applications and distributed assistance to over 20 needy families in recent months,” said Glen Moller, Chairman of the Board of S2S and Chief Executive Officer of Upward Health. “Our new status as a 501(c)(3) organization will allow us to raise money to extend our impact in communities we serve. We have been honored to attract a diverse board of highly-accomplished individuals to our board, and the foundation is now poised to grow for years to come.”

ABOUT SHOULDER TO SHOULDER

Shoulder to Shoulder is the independent non-profit foundation founded by the leadership of Upward Health to provide meaningful one-time support to alleviate acute material needs of individuals and their families in Upward Health communities. Upward Health contributes all administration expenses, meaning that 100% of contributions to Shoulder to Shoulder go directly to the needs identified. To learn more, please visit www.shouldertoshoulderfoundation.org.

ABOUT UPWARD HEALTH

Upward Health is an in-home multidisciplinary provider that partners with health plans and other risk-bearing entities to address the unique needs of the most high-risk, high-need users of the health care system today. Using a unique, in-home community-based approach to meeting a patient’s needs, Upward Health facilitates and delivers care that improves outcomes and the quality of life for every patient it serves. Upward Health has a measured Net Promoter Score of 86, among the highest in the healthcare industry. To learn more, please visit www.upwardhealth.com.