Nov 7, 2018 5 min read

Washington County Community Foundation (WCCF) recently announced the recipients of the 2018 Charles C. Keller Excellence Award for Corporate Philanthropy.

Range Resources was selected in the large employer category and Angelo’s Restaurant was selected in the small employer category. Both companies were recognized for their generosity at WCCF’s annual Philanthropy Banquet on Thursday at the Hilton Garden Inn at Southpointe.

Created in 2011 and named in honor of late founding trustee and past WCCF Chairman Charles C. Keller, the award recognizes local for-profit businesses for exemplary giving and community service.

To be eligible, companies must demonstrate a philosophy of community service, such as time-off or flexible scheduling for employees to perform community service; encourage employee commitment at multiple levels; donate resources including financial, personnel, facility or product; orchestrate a sustained effort to address a community need; and promote active community participation by others.

Range Resources is a leading U.S. independent natural gas and natural gas liquids producer. In 2004, the company pioneered the Marcellus shale with the successful drilling of Washington County’s first commercial well.

According to Michael Mackin, director of external affairs, the company’s enthusiasm for supporting community programs and activities developed organically – Range Resources employees just wanted to do good things.

“We live here. We work here. And this is our community too, so we want to make a positive impact,” he said.

Areas such as education, public safety, veterans’ services, youth, human needs, and conservation are particular priorities.

Charities that have been supported by Range Resources include United Way of Washington County, Washington Hospital Foundation, Monongahela Valley Hospital, Toys for Tots, Habitat for Humanity, Greater Washington County Food Bank, Junior Achievement, the Challenge Program, and Variety – the Children’s Charity. In 2017, the company partnered with WCCF to establish the Range Resources Good Neighbors Fund with a $75,000 gift to support fire departments and emergency management services organizations in Range’s core operating area.

However, for Range, community involvement goes beyond financial support.

“From the top down, Range Resources supports a culture of service,” said Laural Ziemba, director of public affairs.

The core of the Range’s charitable activities is centered on its annual golf outing. With the help of the company’s partners in the energy industry, the event has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities and serves as the largest United Way fundraiser in the county. Other human needs-based organizations like Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern PA, CASA for Kids, and the Greater Washington County Food Bank are also beneficiaries of the proceeds.

The company has also partnered with the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation on a habitat project which restored two areas that added approximately 33 acres of land in Cross Creek County Park. In recognition of the successful project, Range was later honored with the Corporate Conservation Award from the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Michael Passalacqua, the owner of Angelo’s Restaurant, and his employees annually provide in-kind support (food and staffing) to numerous local charities as well as events to raise money for families who are suffering some sort of hardship.

Angelo’s has supported the community since 1939, when Michael Passalacqua’s grandfather opened the West Chestnut Spaghetti Inn. The business passed to Passalacqua’s father, Silvio, and his Aunt Carmelina. After six years of police work, Passalacqua joined the family business, now called Angelo’s. He didn’t just learn how to make Italian food.

“Watching Dad . . . he was a wrestling coach and he mentored kids, employed some of the troubled ones and took them under his wing. That stuck with me,” Michael Passalacqua said.

Five years ago, a woman walked into Angelo’s Restaurant asking for a gift card for a fundraiser. The woman, whose niece, Samantha, had an accident, carried a flier with the toddler’s picture. Passalacqua saw the little girl’s face and, in his heart melted.

He didn’t give a gift card. Instead, he provided all the food for a spaghetti dinner fundraiser. The dinner was a success, and Samantha’s mother, Michele Anderson, said it made all the difference. Her daughter needed someone with her at all times. The fundraiser made it possible for Michele to quit her job.

After that fundraiser and an earlier one helping a Trinity student, Passalacqua rethought Angelo’s marketing.

“I had a marketing budget,” he said, “so I thought, ‘Why not divert some of that to help people?'”

There are nonprofit organizations that benefit from Angelo’s annual commitments, including Citizen’s Library, the Washington Area Humane Society, the Olivia Scott Foundation, First Love Christian Academy, and Blueprints, formerly Community Action Southwest.

“Michael Passalacqua puts his heart into his commitment to our community,” said Mary Jo Podgurski, whose Teen Outreach has been helped. “He’s always there for our young people, but it is the beauty of his spirit as a true role model that sets Michael apart.”

When asked, “Is it about giving back?” Passalacqua says, “I have no answer for that, because it is a specific thing. I help specific organizations and people I believe in – people who played by the rules and have done right all their lives but were hit with something insurmountable. I believe in the work.”

Making 1,000 meatballs, 120 pounds of pasta, and 30 gallons of sauce stretches the staff, so they can only do about six fundraisers for individuals per year.

“It’s hard that I have to turn so many people down,” Passalacqua said.

Angelo’s staff does all the work, so, Passalacqua has invited his employees to share in the award by joining him at the event.

“I don’t do it for the recognition. It’s nice but not the primary thing,” he said. “I hear a story. It tugs at me. That’s the singular motivation.”