DAN ONORATO COUNTY EXECUTIVE COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACTS: Kevin Evanto, County Date 412-350-3171 office 412-352-4075 cell

Betsy Momich, Museums 412-622-3236 office

Onorato, Carnegie Museums Promote $1 Admissions for ACCESS Card Holders Special program removes cost as barrier to enjoying four of region’s most popular attractions

PITTSBURGH — Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh are promoting a special program that invites all Pennsylvania residents with ACCESS Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards to visit any of the four Carnegie Museums for $1.

Pennsylvania ACCESS EBT cards provide food stamps, cash assistance, and medical assistance benefits. The four museums are the Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Science Center, and The Andy Warhol Museum. The $1 admission is good for up to four people per card, per visit.

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh established the discount program four years ago. Now, in partnering with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS), Carnegie Museums hopes to bring more awareness to this special offer, which allows low-income families, seniors and at-risk children, as well as residents with disabilities who receive health care coverage under UPMC for You, Gateway, and Unison Health Plan/Unison Med Plus, to enjoy some of our region’s most important educational and cultural institutions at an extremely low cost.

“The beauty, wonder and fun of our museums are for everyone to enjoy, but we realize that many families and individuals can’t afford to visit due to difficult financial circumstances,” said David Hillenbrand, president of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. “This is one way Carnegie Museums can reach out to those families and those individuals.”

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The ACCESS EBT card program provides benefits to 635,297 people in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties. With 322,184 beneficiaries, Allegheny County has the highest number of ACCESS card users in the region, making the promotional partnership with DHS significant.

“The people of Allegheny County have extraordinary access to top-notch cultural institutions like Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, and we are thrilled to work with the museums to alert the neediest members of our community that cost is not a barrier to attendance,” said Onorato. “I want to thank Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh of their generosity in offering $1 admissions to ACCESS card holders.”

In July 2008, Carnegie Museums included information about the $1 museum benefit in mailings to regional ACCESS card beneficiaries. As a result of these mailings, redemption rates have more than doubled over 2007, with more than 2,200 people visiting the four Carnegie Museums for $1 using their ACCESS cards as of October 2008.

“Museums are transforming places, and the four Carnegie Museums are true cultural treasures of this region,” added Hillenbrand. “In the months and years ahead, we look forward to welcoming many more people to our museums through this special ACCESS program.”

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh reaches 1.4 million people annually, including more than 300,000 children, through onsite programs and offsite educational outreach. In 2007, the museums awarded education scholarships to more than 1,900 children and adults, and gave free admission to more than 35,000 people through the distribution of free passes to individuals, community groups and businesses.

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