Syracuse, NY (October 11, 2024)—The Loretto Foundation held its annual Hope Celebration at Middle Ages Brewing Company yesterday, raising $204,000 to fund critical programs and initiatives for Loretto residents and employees.
Almost 200 people attended the “Blues and Brews Festival” event, which featured a live auction, raffle, food and drinks. The event program included music by local band The Shylocks, and Loretto administrators presented The Loretto Foundation’s 2024 Community Impact Awards given to community members whose work exemplifies the Loretto values of trust, kindness, teamwork, and leadership.
Syracuse University Women’s Basketball Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack received the 2024 Community Impact Award as someone who champions the Loretto mission and has contributed to the overall well-being and vitality of the community. Felisha thanked Loretto for the recognition and for taking care of her mother:
“They say the life expectancy of someone that goes into the Alzheimer’s stage is 18 months. I had a meeting in April and that was year nine that my mom has been living at Loretto, and that says a lot about the people. You survive, and you endure because you look left and you look right. Everyone around you is people who care—you are going to feel like, ‘I have a chance if I can get through the night and make it to the morning.’ I can just see my mom believing that tomorrow is going to be a better day if she endures what she is going through in her beautiful head and makes it to the morning.”
Onondaga County Executive J. Ryan McMahon received the 2024 Loretto Distinguished Service Award for his exceptional commitment, leadership, and impact in improving the care of older adults in Loretto. Speaking about the partnership, he said:
“We are at a point in time in our community where we have generational change and generational opportunity in front of us, and I don’t think we are really ready for it, and we can’t do it without Loretto. I want to thank the private sector partners who continue to support and invest their resources into The Loretto Foundation because Loretto will play a more important role in the future than it already has in the past.”
The Loretto Foundation provides various programs and initiatives to help improve the lives of residents and those who serve them. The Foundation has supported memory care communities, workforce development programs, innovative technology for residents, emergency grants for employees in crisis, and free diapers for Loretto employees with small children.
For more information about the event, visit Blues & Brews Festival—Loretto Foundation Event | Loretto (lorettocny.org). Click here to access interviews with Legette-Jack and McMahon and to view the Loretto Foundation video explaining the impact of the Foundation’s work.
About Loretto
Loretto is a leader in comprehensive healthcare services in Central New York. As the fourth largest healthcare provider in the region, 2,400 exceptional people at Loretto’s 19 programs and facilities deliver extraordinary care to more than 10,000 people of all ages, income levels, and care needs in Onondaga and Cayuga counties each year. From short-term rehabilitation and community-based programs to the home-like settings in its assisted living communities and skilled nursing facilities, Loretto is actively investing in its employees, in medical research, and in new technologies to improve care in our community, making every day, extraordinary. Loretto: Exceptional People. Extraordinary Care.