Aetna and the Aetna Foundation together awarded $170,000 in grants and sponsorships in Arizona during 2010, the groups announced.
In a release, the groups said that the grants were made to organizations addressing obesity among adults and children, racial and ethnic equity in health care, and needed improvements in the integration and coordination of health care services, as well as other health issues.
The six Arizona recipients were:
-Tucson Medical Center;
-Accept the Challenge, Inc.;
-Cesar E. Chavez Foundation;
-AZ Lost Boys Center;
-Celebrity Fight Night Foundation; and
-American Heart Association.
'Aetna is pleased and proud to support nonprofit organizations here in Arizona that are working to make a difference on key health and wellness challenges we face in our communities,' said Kay Thompson, Aetna's local market president for Arizona.
The Tucson Medical Center was awarded a $100,000 grant to support Girls on the Run, a national prevention program that encourages preteen girls to develop self-respect and healthful lifestyles through running. The program combines training for a 3.1 mile run with a curriculum that helps girls learn to make good choices and avoid risky adolescent behaviors.
In Phoenix, a $20,000 grant from the Aetna Foundation to Accept the Challenge is supporting the introduction of a school-based nutrition and fitness program to 1200 students in grades three through six from low-income Hispanic families. The program, Operation Tone-Up is an evidence-based program for preventing childhood obesity that has been endorsed by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan because of its effectiveness in helping students become healthier and more focused in school. The program features daily structured exercise and classroom lessons on nutrition and healthy living that are linked to academic curriculum standards.
Also in Phoenix, the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation received $5,000 in sponsorship support for the Cesar Chavez Familias Saludables program, an effort that promotes healthy nutritional and lifestyle choices among Latinos in the metropolitan area before and during the holiday season.
The AZ Lost Boys Center received a $25,000 grant for its behavioral health programs for young refugees from Sudan's brutal civil war. The organization provides a welcoming safe haven for the so-called Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan to gather socially, learn important life skills, and receive assistance in many areas including education, employment, crisis intervention, and emotional health support.
The Celebrity Fight Night Foundation, Inc. received a $15,000 sponsorship for Fight Night XVI, which raised funds for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.
The American Heart Association received a $5,000 sponsorship for the Phoenix Heart Ball, which raise funds and awareness to promote prevention of cardiovascular disease through education.
Nationwide during 2010, Aetna and the Aetna Foundation gave $15.6 million in grants and sponsorships. In addition, Aetna employees, retirees and directors donated an additional $6.9 million through the company's matching gift program, bringing combined giving in communities where Aetna employees and customers live and work to $22.5 million. And, Aetna's employees donated more than dollars, generously giving nearly 335,000 hours of their personal time and talents in communities nationwide. Since 2003, Aetna employees have logged more than 2.3 million volunteer hours.
'During 2010, Aetna and the Aetna Foundation were pleased to provide grants and sponsorships to 661 nonprofit organizations nationwide, and to match the generosity of our employees to another 9,492 organizations within our communities,' said Anne C. Beal, M.D., M.P.H., Aetna Foundation president. 'We also made significant progress toward our goals of concentrating our grants on specific health issues of national concern, giving nearly $2.35 million to the fight against obesity, $1.24 million to improve racial and ethnic equity in health and health care, and more than $1 million to support better integrated health care in America.'
The Aetna Foundation is a national health foundation and the independent charitable and philanthropic arm of Aetna.
Aetna is a diversified health care benefits company.
More Information:
www.aetna.com
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