INDIANAPOLIS, April 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP), today announced that more than 2,100 associates nationwide joined together with 1,080 of their friends and family members on Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27 (April 19 in Louisville, KY) to give their time and talents to improving communities where they live and work. The effort marked WellPoint's first national Community Service Day.
Associates participated in more than 220 volunteer projects in 30 states and the District of Columbia. Developed in partnership with the March of Dimes, United Way and other nonprofit partners, projects included staffing March of Dimes March for Babies(SM) events, supporting efforts to reduce obesity in children with the Boys & Girls Clubs, and assisting at community health clinics which serve the uninsured.
"No matter how different these activities were, whether associates were registering walkers in support of the March of Dimes or engaging children in healthy activities, associates across the country showed their dedication to improving the communities we serve," said Caz Matthews, WellPoint Foundation president. "I applaud the efforts of the many WellPoint, Inc. associates and their friends and family members who gave so graciously of their personal time."
"United Way is proud to partner with WellPoint Foundation on its Community Service Day. By designing a nationwide day of health focused volunteer opportunities for associates and their families, WellPoint, Inc. is setting an example for how other companies can engage their associates in issues that are both critical to communities and aligned with the giving strategy," said Brian Gallagher, president and CEO of United Way of America.
The WellPoint Foundation, one of the nation's largest corporate foundations, is committed to supporting community and state-based initiatives which help expand health care access to the uninsured. The Foundation also focuses on multi-generational initiatives to help improve public health outcomes in the states WellPoint, Inc.'s affiliate health plans serve. Community Service Day was designed to engage associates in locally-developed community service activities aligned with the Foundation's work and to help build healthy communities. The activities also coincided with the start of Points of Light & Hands On Network's National Volunteer Week.
"WellPoint, Inc. associates gave very generously during the 2007-2008 Associate Giving Campaign, pledging more than $15 million to charitable organizations nationwide," Matthews said. "But we know sometimes what is needed are some extra hands. Community Service Day provided our associates and their friends and family members the opportunity to come together and really make a difference for organizations in their community. I appreciate each and every volunteer for the time and effort invested in this project."
In 2007, the WellPoint Foundation also committed $23 million to community organizations nationwide and WellPoint, Inc. gifted $4.9 million to civic and charitable organizations through its community relations support.
About WellPoint, Inc.
WellPoint, Inc. is the largest health benefits company in terms of medical membership in the United States. WellPoint is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and serves its members as the Blue Cross licensee for California; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield in 10 New York City metropolitan and surrounding counties and as Empire Blue Cross or Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield in selected upstate counties only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the city of Fairfax, the town of Vienna and the area east of State Route 123.), Wisconsin; and through UniCare. Additional information about WellPoint is available at www.wellpoint.com .
About WellPoint Foundation
The WellPoint Foundation is a private, non-profit organization wholly funded by WellPoint, Inc. Through charitable contributions and programs, the Foundation promotes WellPoint's inherent commitment to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that WellPoint's affiliate health plans serve. With combined assets of $200 million, the Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that address and provide innovative solutions to reduce the number of uninsured as well as organizations that promote the Healthy Generations Program, a multi- generational initiative that targets specific disease states and medical conditions. These disease states and medical conditions include: prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the company's annual associate giving campaign and provides a 50 percent match of associates' campaign pledges. To learn more about the WellPoint Foundation please visit www.wellpointfoundation.org .
SOURCE WellPoint, Inc.
