Aetna Awarded $857,500 to Non-Profits in Florida

TAMPA, Fla.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Aetna (NYSE: AET) and the Aetna Foundation in 2008 awarded community grants and sponsorships in Florida totaling $857,500, with a particular focus on mitigating health disparities, improving health-care access and promoting wellness.

Among the community grants awarded were:

$130,000 to Commit 2B Fit;
$75,000 to the Museum of Science & Industry;
$50,000 to MicheLee Puppets;
$48,000 to the Nassau County School District;
$40,000 to Hispanic Unity of Florida;
$35,000 to NANAY;
$33,000 to Communities in Schools, Jacksonville;
$32,000 to the Memorial Foundation;
$25,000 to the Hollywood Beach Latin Festival
$25,000 to the 100 Black Men of America;
$25,000 to the Miami Dade College Foundation;
$25,000 to Our Children, Our Future;
$25,000 to the University of South Florida Foundation;
$25,000 to Unidad of Miami Beach;
$25,000 to the United Way of Miami Dade;
$25,000 to W.J. Bryan Elementary School;
$25,000 to the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science;
$20,000 to the Cathedral Arts Project;
$15,000 to Janelle's Wishing Well Foundation;
$15,000 to Easter Seals Florida, Tampa Bay Region;
$15,000 to the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast;
$12,500 to Hospice By The Sea;
$10,000 to the National Kidney Foundation of Florida;
$10,000 to The Way Free Medical Clinic;
$10,000 to Volunteers In Medicine, Jacksonville;
$10,000 to Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind;
$10,000 to Driving For Donors;
$10,000 to the Voice of Love Training & Development Center;
$8,500 to the Archdiocese of Miami;
$7,500 to Place of Hope;
$5,000 to the American Heart Association, Jacksonville Chapter;
$5,000 to the National Alliance on Mental Illness;
$5,000 to the Patty Boshell Pancreatic Cancer Foundation;
$5,000 to the University of North Florida Foundation;
$3,500 to the Genesis Health Foundation;
$3,500 to Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Palm Beach County;
$2,500 to the Children's Miracle Network;
$2,500 to the Epilepsy Foundation of Florida, Jacksonville;
$1,500 to Bishop Kenny High School;
$1,500 to the I.M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless; and
$1,000 to the Arts & Business Council of Miami.

The $130,000 grant to Commit 2B Fit will fund a academic planner for elementary school students in participating school districts. The planner includes fitness and nutrition information, and will be combined with students' academic assignments to help create healthy, life-long habits.

Aetna's $75,000 grant to the Museum of Science & Industry will help fund "The Amazing You," a new, permanent exhibition on health, wellness and disease prevention. The exhibition is a multi-sensory journey that explores development milestones and teaches people what measures are needed to remain healthy and vital at each stage of life.

The majority of Aetna's other Florida grants focused on a wide range of programs that target diabetes, obesity and community initiatives.

"Florida is home to thousands of Aetna customers and employees," said Mark LaBorde, president of Aetna's Southeast Region small and middle market business. "In these difficult economic times, we feel it is even more important to support programs that positively affect the communities in which we live and work."

Aetna provides health benefits to more than 1.3 million people in Florida.

About the Aetna Foundation

The Aetna Foundation is the independent charitable and philanthropic arm of Aetna Inc. Founded in 1972, the Foundation seeks to help build healthy communities by funding initiatives that improve the quality of life where Aetna employees and customers work and live.

The Foundation's giving is focused on health, diversity and employee community involvement, with broader programs in our home state of Connecticut. Since 1980, the Aetna and the Aetna Foundation have contributed over $334 million in grants, sponsorships and social investments. In 2007, Aetna and the Aetna Foundation contributed $24.5 million nationally.

Additional information about the Foundation is available about the Aetna Foundation is available at [ www.aetna.com/foundation ]

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 37.2 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 ].

Contributing Sources

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Aetna Awarded $857,500 to Non-Profits in Florida