CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust Awards $66,000 Dollars to Eight Non-Prof

WOONSOCKET, R.I., March 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust, the private foundation managed by CVS Corporation , announced today that it has awarded $66,000 in grants to eight non-profit organizations in Massachusetts.

"We are pleased to support these very worthy charities that are working hard in our communities to improve people's lives," said Eileen Howard Dunn, Vice President of the CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust. "A CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust grant is an effective way for us to give back to the communities where we do business," stated Howard Dunn.

Grants were awarded to organizations dedicated to healthcare, education and community engagement. "The foundation focuses on those projects that clearly demonstrate they are meeting a need within the community, and where collaborative efforts and measurement tools are in place to track success. We are confident that each of the non-profits we chose to work with in the coming year will create positive change and influence in the communities we serve together," said Howard Dunn.

In many cases, CVS/pharmacy associates become involved with grantees by providing volunteer assistance, participating in other fund-raisers and assisting in outreach and education services.

Massachusetts based organizations that received a grant from the CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust are:

Pediatric Dental Clinic at Boston Medical Center

Description of grant: The Trust will be used toward the purchase of dental equipment and instruments, which will increase the Pediatric Dental Clinic efficiency and capacity. The Boston Medical Center Pediatric Dental Clinic is a safety net hospital that provides free dental treatment to its young patients, most of whom are from low-income, medically underserved populations in Boston. These children are at risk for serious dental disease, including tooth decay. Link to website: http://www.bmc.org/ Contact name at organization: Jennifer Fleming (617) 638-6714

Big Sister Association of Greater Boston

Description of grant: Funding supports, sustains, and expands Big Sister's mentoring programs for girl's ages 7-15 through community-based, school-based & group mentoring. Link to website: http://www.bigsister.org/ Contact name at organization: Martha A. Lemons (617) 236-8060

Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, Inc.

Description of grant: The Greater Lawrence Family Health Center is the only community health center providing primary health care for children and adolescents in the City of Lawrence. There are 4 clinics in Lawrence providing support services at 20 sites throughout the region and are the only source of primary care for 34,000 patients. The grant will support Kidsworks, a program targeting low-income, minority children who are overweight or obese. Link to website: http://www.glfhc.org/ Contact name at organization: Jeffrey S. Geller (978) 725-7400

Hampshire Educational Collaborative (HEC)

Description of grant: Funding will initiate a comprehensive fitness/wellness model in the current after school program in Amherst and Palmer sites. Program currently serves approximately 1,000 youth/day and 3,000/yr. Many children live below the poverty level. Link to website: http://www.collaborative.org/ Contact name at organization: Karen Reuter (413) 586-4900

National Kidney Foundation of MA, RI, NH & VT

Description of grant: The grant will support Kidney Early Evaluation Program (KEEP), a free kidney health screening program designed to raise awareness about kidney disease among high risk individuals and provide free testing and educational information so that kidney disease and its complications can be prevented or delayed. Link to website: http://www.kidneyhealth.org/ Contact name at organization: Andrea Savisky 1- 800-542-4001

Bay Cove Human Service, Inc.

Description of grant: Funding will benefit the Small Wonders Nursery School's Toddlers Opportunity Trust at the new Child Development Center in Dorchester. Educational and therapeutic toddler playgroups benefit children with and without disabilities. Link to website: http://www.baycove.org/ Contact name at organization: Marion Nierintz (617) 371-3167

Massachusetts Association for the Blind, dba MAB Community Services

Description of grant: Funding to support Volunteers for Vision Program which has been in existence for over 40 yrs. Statewide program enhances quality of life for over 550 blind and visually impaired consumers by providing them w/ trained volunteers to help with reading mail, paying bills, grocery shopping and getting to and from appointments. Link to website: http://www.mabcommunity.org/ Contact name at organization: Cynthia Canham (617) 732-0245

Reader to Reader, Inc.

Description of grant: Grant will support Reader to Reader's ongoing work in the inner-city public schools of MA, particularly in schools with no or out-of-date libraries. In schools w/out libraries, program builds their book collection from ground up, donating wide variety of subjects. In schools with libraries, the organization works with librarian to renew, replenish, and replace the antiquated existing collection.

Link to website: http://www.readertoreader.org/ Contact name at organization: David Mazor (413) 256-8595

The CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust will be accepting applications for 2005 grants from May 1 to June 15, 2005.

For additional information, go to http://www.cvs.com/corpInfo/community/charitable_mission.html.

The CVS Charitable Trust, Inc. is a private foundation managed by CVS Corporation, which operates more than 5,000 CVS/pharmacy stores in 36 states. The Trust's mission is to provide funding for health care, education and community involvement initiatives in communites where CVS stores are located. General information about CVS is available through the Investor Relations portion of the Company's website at http://investor.cvs.com/, or through the website's press room at http://www.cvs.com/pressroom.

CONTACT: Mike DeAngelis CVS Corporation 401-770-2645