United Concordia Presents Blue Star Families
Certificate of Appreciation to Local School

United Concordia employees, Sharon Duke and Stephanie Rigling (back row), present the certificate to Lyndy Ehrenzeller, Jimmy Losh and Hannah Wilson who accept on behalf of Hillside Elementary School.

On April 27, 2011, United Concordia presented Hillside Elementary School, a local school near UCCI's Harrisburg headquarters, with a certificate of appreciation from Blue Star Families.

In October, Hillside partnered with United Concordia and its parent company, Highmark, to support Operation Appreciation, an initiative of Blue Star Families (a military outreach organization), by signing holiday cards for military service members deployed overseas. Children in the school signed hundreds of cards and drew heartfelt pictures to send to service members away from their families during the holiday season.

"United Concordia is always eager to support the military community in any way possible," says Sharon Duke, director of Marketing and Outreach, DoD Programs. "Operation Appreciation gave us the opportunity to partner with Hillside Elementary School and get the kids involved in the effort to make a difference in the lives of deployed service members during the holiday season."

More than 1,500 signed cards were sent overseas to military service members during the holiday season.

For more information about Blue Star Families, visit their Web site: www.bluestarfam.org.

For more information about Hillside Elementary School, visit their Web site: www.wssd.k12.pa.us/hillside.cfm.