WellPoint Continues Community Commitment In 2012

As one of the nation’s largest health benefits companies, WellPoint is committed to improving the lives of the people it serves and the health of American communities. In 2012, the company, its foundation and associates advanced this mission by directing millions of dollars and more than 14,000 hours to nonprofit organizations, events and programs working to address some of the nation’s most pressing health needs.

“Creating healthier futures for children, adults and seniors is at the core of everything we do,” said Lance Chrisman, executive director of the WellPoint Foundation. “Through formal and informal programs, WellPoint and the WellPoint Foundation support organizations and programs across the United States making improvements in health. These efforts are strengthened by the generosity of WellPoint’s more than 36,000 associates who make donations of their time and their charitable dollars throughout the year.”

WellPoint’s charitable and community-focused activities are conducted through four primary channels: WellPoint Foundation grants; an annual Community Service Day; the WellPoint Associate Giving Campaign; and community sponsorships. Together, these activities total more than $47 million in current and ongoing community support.

WellPoint Foundation Grants

Through its Healthy Generations grant program, the WellPoint Foundation works to identify the issues most in need of attention and then focuses its grant work on improving health in those areas. As a result, $25 million in open and active grants from the WellPoint Foundation are supporting nonprofit organizations and programs at the local, regional and national levels.

Major grant activities of the WellPoint Foundation in 2012 include:

• American Cancer Society – Patient Navigator Program: A $1.5 million grant to support the Patient Navigator Program in 14 states. The program creates one-on-one relationships between newly diagnosed patients and trained Patient Navigators, who provide information, support and personal guidance throughout a cancer experience.
• American Heart Association – Hands-Only CPR Campaign: Kickoff of a three-year, $4.5 million grant to support the Hands-Only CPR educational campaign and mobile training tour to educate millions of Americans about this lifesaving CPR technique that does not require mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing. Nearly 400,000 Americans suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year, and almost 90 percent die because they don’t get immediate CPR. The educational campaign and training tour are working to provide American’s with the skills they need to feel confident and respond should a cardiac situation occur.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) – Triple Play: Year two of a three year, $5 million grant to strengthen and expand BGCA’s proven wellness program, Triple Play. A recent study of more than 2,000 children ages 9-14 who attend Boys & Girls Clubs showed that Triple Play succeeded in getting them to exercise more, eat healthier foods and feel better about themselves. Triple Play kids increased to 90 percent of the federally recommended amount of daily exercise, which is 60 minutes a day for children, while their peers outside the program decreased to 78 percent.
• OASIS Institute – CATCH Healthy Habits: The conclusion of a two year, $2.7 million grant to greatly expand CATCH Healthy Habits, a unique intergenerational program which pairs adults age 50-plus with children to encourage healthier eating and physical activity. Results have shown both the youth and adult volunteers both benefit from the health-focused activities and programming.

Throughout its grant activities, the WellPoint Foundation places an emphasis on measurable outcomes to ensure that programs receiving funding are truly making a difference. In 2012, this approach was further validated, as two organizations supported by the WellPoint Foundation received recognition for their effectiveness from third-parties and industry experts:

• Health Literacy Wisconsin: Received a 2012 Leonard G. Doak Health Literacy Innovator Award from Health Literacy Innovations for its “Let’s Talk About the Flu” program in the ReadsEasy Publication Award category. A $75,000 grant from the WellPoint Foundation’s local foundation in Wisconsin helped Health Literacy Wisconsin reach more than 940 adults during the 2011-2012 flu season.
• OASIS Institute: The CATCH Healthy Habits program was named a Program of Distinction by Generations United, a national organization focused on promoting life-improving intergenerational programs and policies, and the OASIS Institute was named to the Social Impact Exchange S&I 100, a list that recognizes nonprofits offering innovative solutions and proven results.

Community Service Day

On April 28, 2012, more than 3,500 WellPoint associates, friends and family members volunteered at 170 nonprofit organizations across the country to make a lasting impact and improve health. The company’s associates planted 202 trees, sorted 48,260 pounds of food for distribution, beautified 56 acres of land, engaged with 750 seniors and children, and made countless other contributions to the individuals and organizations they volunteered to serve in their local community.

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