In 1963, the Hershey Trust Company contributed $50 million and land from the Milton Hershey School Trust to establish a medical school and hospital that would be administered by The Pennsylvania State University. Today, the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center provides education, patient care and research. It has emerged as one of the nation's leading health care facilities, offering a full spectrum of advanced medical and surgical diagnostics and treatments.

Hershey supports the Young Survival Coalition, an international, non-profit network of breast cancer survivors and supporters, contributing $300,000 in 2007. As part of these efforts, The Hershey Company produces limited edition YORK® Peppermint Patties with pink filling and other pink products, and sponsors the Tour de Pink®, a four-day bicycle ride designed to raise money, awareness and hope for young women affected by breast cancer.

The Hershey Company promotes the advancement of medicine and the mitigation of suffering through support of non-profit organizations like the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the National AIDS Fund, and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.