Grants, sponsorships and volunteerism support organizations
working to improve health
MILWAUKEE – Feb. 3, 2017 – Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield continued its long-standing tradition of working to improve health and strengthen Wisconsin communities in 2016. Through sponsorships, grants, volunteerism and charitable donations, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, its foundation and associates in Wisconsin directed hundreds of thousands of dollars and nearly 1,800 volunteer hours to events, organizations and causes working to address health disparities and promote healthy lifestyles.
“For more than 75 years, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has served our neighbors and our communities here in Wisconsin,” said Paul Nobile, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. “Investing in and giving back to our community is directly tied to our mission and we’re proud to work each year with those making Wisconsin a healthier place.”
Highlights of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s 2016 efforts include:
- Supporting health causes and organizations, such as the American Lung Association Fight for Air Climb and the American Diabetes Association Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes, through nearly $100,000 in local sponsorships.
- Partnering with the American Heart Association and its allies to train 5,065 people in Hands-Only CPR, including trainings with the West Allis Fire Department at the 2016 Wisconsin State Fair.
- Working with the American Lung Association, March of Dimes and Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation to engage more than 200 people in smoking cessation programs.
- Engaging 1,270 youth in healthy, active lifestyles through the Boys and Girls Clubs of America’sTriple Play program and providing grants to five Wisconsin Clubs: Boys & Girls Club of Fond du Lac – Johnsonville Unit; Boys & Girls Club of Fox Valley – Foster Elementary School; Boys & Girls Club of Green Bay – Thomas H. Lutsey Unit; Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee — Mary Ryan Boys & Girls Club; and Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh.
- Opening three, new $100,000 fitness centers with the National Foundation for Governors’ Fitness Councils at Wisconsin schools: Appleton’s Badger Elementary, Kenosha’s Washington Middle School and Milwaukee’s Lincoln Center of the Arts.
- Providing a grant to the Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation to support its Grapevine Heart Health Program, helping nearly 200 women reduce cardiovascular risk factors.
- Contributing more than $110,000 to health-focused nonprofits through the company’s Associate Giving Program and Foundation match.
In addition to these efforts, Wisconsin also benefited from nearly $1 million in national grants originating from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s parent company foundation.
“Among the many things the Badger state has to be proud of are the countless organizations working to get kids off to a healthy start in life and address our most pressing health challenges,” said Nobile. “We’re proud to stand alongside so many of them and we look forward to continuing this work in 2017.”
Highlights, summaries and photographs recapping Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s 2016 community activities can be found on its blog at http://anthemwi.tumblr.com. Additional information is also available in the company’s annual Corporate Responsibility Report at www.anthemcorporateresponsibility.com.
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About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin
-Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin (BCBSWi), Compcare Health Services Insurance Corporation (Compcare) and Wisconsin Collaborative Insurance Company (WCIC). BCBSWi underwrites or administers PPO and indemnity policies and underwrites the out of network benefits in POS policies offered by Compcare or WCIC; Compcare underwrites or administers HMO or POS policies; WCIC underwrites or administers Well Priority HMO or POS policies. Independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Well Priority is a service mark of Wisconsin Collaborative Insurance Company. Additional information about Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin is available at www.anthem.com. Also, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/askanthemand on Facebook at www.facebook.com/askanthem.
About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation
Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation LLC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, promotes Anthem’s inherent commitment to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield serves. The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that address and provide innovative solutions to health care challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets specific disease states and medical conditions. These 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 Associate Giving program which provides a 50 percent match of associates’ campaign pledges, as well as its Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. ®ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.