Contact: BlackRock Media Relations Lauren Trengrove 212

Contact:
BlackRock Media Relations
Lauren Trengrove
212-810-3665
[email protected]
Donatella PR Contact
Jetty-Jane
212-542-5061
[email protected]
City Harvest Contact:
Jackie Meluso, Rubenstein PR
212-843-9341
[email protected]
BlackRock Partners with Donatella Arpaia to Support City Harvest’s
“Skip Lunch Fight Hunger” Campaign
New York, Friday, May 18, 2012 – BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) and Donatella Arpaia,
Food Network Star and Owner of Donatella, today announced their partnership to
support City Harvest’s 10th annual “Skip Lunch Fight Hunger” campaign, running from
May 14th to May 18th. BlackRock is a proud sponsor for a third consecutive year of Skip
Lunch Fight Hunger.
Skip Lunch Fight Hunger helps City Harvest meet the need for emergency food
throughout the five boroughs, especially during the summer when thousands of kids who
depend on school lunches during the year may face hunger. Today, BlackRock
employees in the New York office will donate what they would normally spend on lunch
and enjoy a meal provided by Donatella, the restaurant at 184 8th Avenue, the Treats
Truck, and Fresco on the Go and Pret A Manger, two companies that donate excess
food with help from BlackRock employees who transport it to a local soup kitchen.
Based on what was raised years prior during Skip Lunch Fight Hunger, BlackRock
expects that employee donations will provide at least 55,000 lunches for New York City
children during the summer months.
BlackRock is also hosting its first bake-off, where 20 employees will face-off and share
their sweet creations with lunch attendees and have their delicacies judged by
restaurateur Donatella and BlackRock’s CFO, Ann Marie Petach, Chief Risk Officer, Ben
Golub, head of BlackRock’s Portfolio Management Group, Rich Kushel, head of
BlackRock’s US & Canada Institutional Group, Edwin Conway, and head of BlackRock’s
multi-family office, single family office and HNW channel, Brian Feurtado.
In New York City, it’s common to spend $10 on lunch without thinking twice. With that
same $10, City Harvest can help provide lunch for 37 children. Even just 27 cents helps
City Harvest rescue and deliver 1 pound of food to hungry New Yorkers.
“We are excited to be a part of this very worthy cause and look forward to continuing to
give back to the communities in which we work and live,” said Robert Kapito, President
of BlackRock. “This is just one part of our ongoing collaboration with City Harvest to help
fight hunger in New York City.”
“I am honored to partner with two incredible organizations like BlackRock and City
Harvest in their efforts to feed hungry children throughout the summer months”, said
Donatella Arpaia, Iron Chef Alumna and Owner of Donatella. “As a mother, this initiative
hits close to home and I know that it will have a meaningful impact on the families in our
community.”
“Thanks in part to the generosity of BlackRock and its employees—many of whom
already volunteer to rescue food on foot for City Harvest-as well as Donatella Arpaia,
the summer months won’t be hungry months,” said Jilly Stephens, Executive Director of
City Harvest.
To learn more about how you can support this effort, visit www.skiplunch.org
Follow us on Twitter: @BlackRockCo, @DonatellaArpaia; @DonatellaNYC,
@CityHarvest
About BlackRock
BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and advisory
services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At March 31, 2012, BlackRock’s
AUM was $3.684 trillion. BlackRock offers products that span the risk spectrum to meet
clients’ needs, including active, enhanced and index strategies across markets and
asset classes. Products are offered in a variety of structures including separate
accounts, mutual funds, iShares® (exchange-traded funds), and other pooled investment
vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment
system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions®.
Headquartered in New York City, as of March 31, 2012, the firm has approximately
9,900 employees in 27 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including
North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East and Africa. For
additional information, please visit the Company's website at www.blackrock.com.
About Donatella
Donatella Arpaia is a successful New York restaurateur who has opened ten restaurants
to date, including Kefi and most recently D Bar and Donatella, her most personal
endeavor as the Chelsea restaurant is a true embodiment of her Neapolitan heritage
seamlessly aligned with her glamorous role as a successful restaurateur. While her
achievements in the industry are numerous, she observes, “I’m most proud of what I’m
doing now because it feels most like me.”
Arpaia’s distinctions include one of Crain’s “40 under 40”, the “Hostess with the Mostest”
by Zagat and one of the ‘Most Powerful Women in Manhattan’ according to the New
York Post. Her first cookbook, Donatella Cooks: Simple Food Made Glamorous, was
released in April 2010. In addition to numerous TV appearances, Arpaia holds a
recurring role as guest judge on the Food Network’s “Next Iron Chef” and “Iron Chef
America”. She is also a regular contributor to NBC’s “Today Show”.
www.donatellanyc.com
About City Harvest
Now serving New York City for 30 years, City Harvest (www.CityHarvest.org) is the
world's first food rescue organization, dedicated to feeding the city’s hungry men,
women, and children. This year, City Harvest will collect more than 38 million pounds of
excess food from all segments of the food industry, including restaurants, grocers,
corporate cafeterias, manufacturers, and farms. This food is then delivered free of
charge to some 600 community food programs throughout New York City by a fleet of
trucks and bikes. City Harvest helps feed the more than one million New Yorkers that
face hunger each year.
City Harvest also addresses issues that surround hunger in New York City by supporting
affordable access to nutritious food in low-income communities, educating individuals,
families, and communities in the prevention of diet-related diseases, channeling a
greater amount of fresh produce into high-need areas, and enhancing the ability of
agency partners to feed hungry men, women, and children.
BlackRock® is a registered trademark of BlackRock, Inc. All other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners.
© 2012 BlackRock, Inc. All rights reserved.