Aetna Grants More Than $190,000 to Arizona Nonprofits in 2009

Aetna (NYSE: AET) and the Aetna Foundation in 2009 awarded ten community grants and sponsorships in Arizona totaling $190,950, with a particular focus on disease prevention, obesity and health screening.

The contributions support Aetna’s commitment to enhancing the quality of health care, and reducing racial and ethnic disparities. In total, the Aetna Foundation, Aetna and its employees, awarded more than $24 million nationally in 2009.

The ten Arizona grant recipients were:

• TMC Foundation;
• American Heart Association;
• Arizona Foundation for Women;
• Celebrity Fight Night Foundation;
• American Academy of Pediatrics—Arizona Foundation;
• The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society;
• Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Phoenix;
• National Farm Workers Service Center;
• Phoenix Day; and
• Hands on Greater Phoenix.

"Aetna is proud to support organizations in Arizona which are making great strides in targeting health care issues that affect our communities,” said Kay Thompson, market head for Aetna in Arizona. "As a responsible corporate citizen, we recognize our obligation to help address these critical needs.”

The Aetna Foundation awarded a $45,000 grant to the TMC Foundation to provide two 12-week, 24-lesson curricula for third- through fifth-grade girls to help develop physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual development. The TMC Foundation, located in Tucson, is the Pima County council for Girls on the Run International.

The American Heart Association received a $25,000 grant for both CPR-Anytime and the Heart Ball. CPR-Anytime taught CPR to seventh-graders in areas of Maricopa County that have high incidences of heart attacks and drowning. The Heart Ball, part of the Go Red for Women campaign, is an educational luncheon that promotes healthy lifestyles.

Aetna awarded a $25,000 grant to the Arizona Foundation for Women in support of two programs: The Sandra Day O’Connor luncheon, which is the largest fund raiser for the Foundation; and the Walk to End Domestic Violence program to support area shelters that serve women who are fleeing from domestic abuse.

The Celebrity Fight Night Foundation, Inc. received a $25,000 sponsorship for Fight Night XVI, which raised funds for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.

The Aetna Foundation awarded the American Academy of Pediatrics a $17,500 grant to develop childhood obesity toolboxes to be used by primary care clinicians and school nurses in Arizona through webinars and web-based training.

A $10,000 sponsorship was awarded to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for the Hope Ball in celebration of their 60^th anniversary.

Under a $10,000 grant, the Boys and Girls Club of Metropolitan Phoenix was able to promote healthy eating, fitness and positive relationships through their Triple Play/Healthy Habits Program, which serves 1,200 children and youth from low-income minority backgrounds.

The National Farm Workers Service Center received a $10,000 grant to help fund the Healthy Happy Holidays program which promotes healthy nutritional choices among Hispanics/Latinos in the Phoenix metropolitan area during the holiday season. Part of the funding also went to support the new Community Garden at Pueblo Sol Middle School designed, developed, and maintained by approximately 40 students.

Phoenix Day received a $10,000 grant for a series of four nutrition workshops and healthy meals that were presented to Phoenix Day’s families on a quarterly basis to prevent childhood obesity.

A grant in the amount of $5,950 was awarded to Hands on Greater Phoenix to develop a large-scale community service project at St. Mary’s Food Bank .

"Aetna and the Aetna Foundation are proud to partner with organizations across the country in support of their good work, and we look forward to continued relationships as we focus our giving in key areas going forward,” said Anne Beal, MD, MPH, president of the Aetna Foundation. "For 2010 and beyond, we are transitioning to a new approach that encompasses a more concentrated grant-making focus on specific health issues of national concern, enhanced communication and measurement of the impact of our grants, a more proportionate distribution of our charitable giving across the country, and a more holistic relationship with our community partners that capitalizes on our employee presence and the generosity and talents of our employee volunteers.”

The Aetna Foundation has opened the call for proposals for the 2010 grant cycle. Grant applicants should visit www.AetnaFoundation.org for more information on how to apply for a grant and to learn more about the following Aetna Foundation focus areas for grant making in 2010 and beyond:

• Addressing the rising incidence of obesity among U.S. residents, including children;
• Promoting racial and ethnic equity in health and health care for common chronic conditions and for the prevention of infant mortality; and
• Advancing integrated health care, by:
  • Improving coordination and communications among health care professionals;
  • Creating informed and involved patients; and
  • Promoting cost-effective, affordable care.

About the Aetna Foundation

The Aetna Foundation is the independent charitable and philanthropic arm of Aetna Inc. Since 1980, Aetna and the Aetna Foundation have contributed over $379 million in grants and sponsorships. As a national health foundation, we promote wellness, health, and access to high-quality health care for everyone. This work is enhanced by the time and commitment of Aetna employees, who have volunteered nearly 2 million hours since 2003. Our current giving is focused on addressing the rising rate of adult and childhood obesity in the U.S.; promoting racial and ethnic equity in health and health care; and advancing integrated health care. For more information, visit www.AetnaFoundation.org.

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 36.1 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com and Aetna’s Annual Report at www.aetna.com/2009annualreport/.