M&T Bank, KeyBank partner with PSE effort to fight COVID-19

M&T Bank and KeyBank, in partnership with the First Niagara Foundation, have teamed up with Pegula Sports & Entertainment in its direct community aid initiative. PSE began the initiative March 25 in partnership with the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres Foundations. Together, the companies will provide $540,000 to aid front line workers at Kaleida Health, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) in the local fight against COVID-19.

"Everyone in Western New York is in this fight together," said PSE President & CEO Kim Pegula. "KeyBank and M&T Bank are both great partners of ours. Today our partners look beyond individual goals and join together with us for a much more important cause, as we provide brave front line workers with supplies they need to combat COVID-19 in our community."

"We are so grateful for the healthcare workers in Western New York whose compassion and perseverance are driving the tireless fight against Coronavirus in our community," said Gary Quenneville, KeyBank Regional Sales Executive and Buffalo Market President. "We are proud to team up and stand united with our partners at Pegula Sports & Entertainment and M&T Bank to support their hard work, dedication and sacrifice. Through their heroic efforts, we will beat COVID-19."

"In these unpredictable and unsettling times, we must come together to support each other and especially those working on the frontlines," said Shelley Drake, President of the M&T Charitable Foundation and Western New York Regional President at M&T Bank. "We have immense gratitude for the brave people who are selflessly and tirelessly working to end this pandemic, and it is our hope that, through these grants, we are able to provide some relief during this challenging time."

The aid provided by PSE, M&T Bank and KeyBank will directly fulfill needs of front line workers within the Kaleida Healthcare system, at Roswell Park and ECMC, with items such as:

• Personal protective equipment and other necessary hospital equipment
• Meals for front line workers and caregivers
• Tablets for virtual interaction between patients and loved ones that will be donated to local schools following the crisis
• Employee and patient hardship support
• Hotel rooms for front line workers fighting COVID-19, who aren't comfortable heading home to their loved ones because of the risk of transmission

"We are grateful to see the outpouring of support for our dedicated workforce during this most unprecedented time," said Jody Lomeo, president and CEO of Kaleida Health. "As our team works tirelessly on the front lines caring for the Western New York community, support from organizations like Pegula Sports and Entertainment to our COVID-19 Response Fund will help ensure they have all the tools they need and ease the financial burden of this pandemic on our organization."

"We are beyond grateful to Pegula Sports & Entertainment, KeyBank and M&T Bank for their thoughtfulness and generosity during this time," said Candace Johnson, PhD, Roswell Park President and CEO. "They continue to be caring community leaders in WNY. We are thankful for their support to provide iPads for patients to communicate with family during limited visitation; financial assistance to patients and families who are facing economic struggle during this pandemic; and meals and wellness support for our front line staff who are working long, strenuous hours."

Thomas J. Quatroche Jr., PhD, President and CEO, ECMC Corporation said, "ECMC's dedicated frontline clinicians have been working tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide the very best care for our patients, so this very generous donation will provide them important support as they continue their heroic efforts. We are deeply grateful to PSE, KeyBank and M&T Bank for coming together to pool their resources on behalf of our ECMC Family, reinforcing our community's reputation of being good neighbors and stepping up during this unprecedented time."

PSE launched its direct community aid initiative in March with $1.2 million in funding provided by Terry and Kim Pegula, the Buffalo Bills Foundation and Buffalo Sabres Foundation. The fund has since grown with more than $260,000 in donations from players and staff. It is also providing resources to community members affected by the crisis through the Western New York COVID-19 Community Response Fund and FeedMore WNY.