The Matty Fund Recognized by The Rite Aid Foundation as Its Newest KidCents Charity

Wakefield, RI – The Matty Fund, Rhode Island’s leading organization for helping children and families living with epilepsy, announced today that they have been selected by The Rite Aid Foundation as one of the newest KidCents charities. The Matty Fund is one of only two Rhode Island charities to be included in the prestigious KidCents program, and one of only 204 organizations in the nation to earn the honor. The KidCents program allows Rite Aid Wellness+ customers to round their purchase up to the nearest dollar amount and donate the change to a non-profit organization of their choice.

By selecting The Matty Fund as their charity, customers will be supporting local families whose lives have been touched by epilepsy. The Rite Aid Foundation is dedicated to working with other non-profit organizations to improve the health and welfare of children in local communities

“We are so excited for the opportunity to work with Rite Aid and participate in their KidCents program,” said Marisol Garcia, executive director of The Matty Fund. “Not only is this a great way to get the community involved in our cause, but this also validates our work in helping families across the region who are facing epilepsy and will help raise epilepsy awareness to a much wider audience.”

The Matty Fund provides family resources, raises epilepsy awareness, promotes patient safety and improves the lives of children and families living with epilepsy. Families and caregivers are connected and receive services through a variety of programs, including the Epilepsy Resource Center, the Discover My Epilepsy Support Groups, Camp Matty, and parent workshops. The organization has donated thousands of dollars in research grants, provides college scholarships to local students facing epilepsy, and through its Matty Hatty Day awareness program, has educated close to 7,000 students about epilepsy and seizure illnesses every school year.

“We are excited to be working with The Matty Fund as we launch the next phase of our KidCents program,” said Gayle Rife, manager of The Rite Aid Foundation. “Each time our customers ‘round up,’ they will be helping us make a difference in the lives of children living with epilepsy and their families, right here in Rhode Island and we couldn’t be happier to give back to our community in such a meaningful way.”

Rite Aid customers must be a Wellness+ member in order to participate in KidCents, which can be attained through a free and easy registration process on https://www.riteaid.com. Members can use their wellness+ account information to review different charity profiles at www.kidcents.com. The profiles provide information about each organization and their services, as well as feature stories about children that they have helped and/or are currently helping. Customers choose which charity they would like to support on the site, and the next time they shop at Rite Aid, their change will be rounded to the nearest dollar and then donated to said charity.

As part of the round up program, The Rite Aid Foundation will also be awarding each of the 204 charities with a $10,000 KidCents grant. A presentation of the checks took place on Tuesday, September 16 at the Rite Aid pharmacy located at 20 Woodruff Avenue in Narragansett. The Rite Aid Foundation donated over $17 million to non-profit organizations and worked with others to raise $65 million for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals since 2001.

“The Rite Aid Foundation is doing a great service to children in need,” added Garcia. “We are grateful for their generosity and their willingness to work with The Matty Fund to help us reach even more children and families.”

From Left to Right: Marisol Garcia, Executive Director of The Matty Fund; Diane Kuriscak, Pharmacy District Manager at Rite Aid; Chuck Shapazian, District Manager at Rite Aid; Marc Ringuette, LPC, Loss Prevention District Manager at Rite Aid; and Linda Lynch, Development & Outreach Director at The Matty Fund.

The Matthew Siravo Memorial Foundation is a non-profit organization in memory of Matthew Siravo who passed away from epilepsy May 11, 2003. It is dedicated to providing aid for epilepsy research and education, epilepsy awareness through educational programs and annual scholarships to high school seniors diagnosed with epilepsy.

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