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Pennsylvania’s 2023 official summer adult drink has been announced.

The Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association (PLBTA), on behalf of the state’s taverns, bars, and licensed restaurants, declared Holla Spirits’ Orange Crush to be the drink of choice.

Holla Spirits, a York County-based distillery, will donate 10% of its Thirsty, Orange ya? vodka sales which is used to make the drink to Uplifting Athletes, a non-profit helping people impacted by rare diseases.

The organizations challenged other Pennsylvania-based distilleries to join the fundraising effort, while encouraging the state’s bars to add the drink to their summer cocktail menus, PLBTA said.

“With a statewide membership of small business bars, taverns, and licensed restaurants, it makes logical sense for us to declare Pennsylvania’s Official Summer Drink for adults,” said Chuck Moran, executive director for the PLBTA. “More importantly, it’s even better that we can link it to a worthy cause through a partnership of Pennsylvania’s distilleries and taverns.”

Holla Spirits founder Patrick Shorb said having an official summer drink for Pennsylvania to benefit a worthy cause makes sense, and his company is more than willing to participate.

“As someone impacted by rare diseases, our brand is passionate about doing our part to assist organizations dedicated to fighting these horrible conditions,” Shorb said, “We’re excited about this declaration from the state’s taverns, and very happy to participate.”

Uplifting Athletes, a nonprofit organization founded in 2007, harnesses the power of sport to build a community that invests in the lives of people impacted by rare diseases. Since 2007, Uplifting Athletes has raised more than $8 million by engaging athletes in order to positively impact the rare disease community through research and driving action.

“We are thankful that both Holla Spirits and the PLBTA want to help raise funds throughout the summer to bring awareness and drive action for people impacted by rare diseases,” said Rob Long, executive director of Uplifting Athletes.

Shorb said starting June 1, tavern patrons should ask their bartenders for the Official Pennsylvania Summer Adult Drink of 2023 using Holla Spirits Thirsty, Orange ya? vodka. Shorb adds that the recipe for the drink will be available at HollaSpirits.com.

St. Luke’s Bethlehem campus PHOTO/PROVIDED –

St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) spent more on charity and community investment than it received in tax breaks, ranking it among the top 25 in the nation.

SLUHN made the Lown Institute’s top 25 list of health care systems with “fair share” surpluses: coming in at 16 in the nation. It was the only health care system in Lehigh Valley to receive recognition.

“This report’s findings reflect the level of St. Luke’s commitment to the communities we serve,” said St. Luke’s Vice President of Community Health Dr. Rajika Reed. “At St. Luke’s, we’re more than talk. We walk the walk.”

The Lown Institute calculated fair share spending based on 2019 IRS Form 990. For systems in which 2019 data were not available, data from 2018 was used, according to a St. Luke’s press release.

Fair share deficits and surpluses for each system were calculated by balancing the estimated value of hospital systems’ tax exemptions against the amount systems spent on charity care and community investment— including community health improvement activities, contributions to community groups, community building activities, and subsidized healthcare services, the Lown Institute said. Only private nonprofit hospitals with available IRS data were included in the analysis.

St. Luke’s fair share surplus stands in stark contrast to the fair share deficits of most other health care systems locally and across the country.

The Lown Institute determined that 227 of the 275 systems studied had fair share deficits, meaning they spent less on charity care and community investment than the value of their tax exemption. Adding the fair share deficits of all hospital systems together reveals $18.4 billion in stranded dollars that could have been used to advance health equity, housing, food insecurity and other local needs.

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