CINCINNATI and CLEVELAND, April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Eight non-profit organizations throughout Ohio, including Cleveland's Historic Warehouse District and Cincinnati's Center for Closing the Health Gap, have been chosen to receive more than $500,000 in funding from the Anthem Foundation, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's charitable organization.
"As the state's largest health benefits company, we take the responsibility of supporting the communities where we live and work seriously. I think our pledge, through this series of grants from the Anthem Foundation, underscores our commitment," said Chuck Slater, president, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Ohio. "For the health-related programs, receiving these substantial financial contributions near the national observance of Cover the Uninsured Week, speaks volumes."
The foundation recently selected the following Ohio organizations to receive program funding beginning this month:
In Northern Ohio
* The Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) Nursing Scholarship Program will receive $50,000 over two years to provide scholarship funds to support its highly successful nursing and health career program that addresses a documented workforce shortage in the region.
* The Historic Warehouse District will receive $75,000 over two years to launch its "Public Space Revitalization Project" this summer. The project is focused on attraction and retention of economic development in one of downtown's most vital living spaces.
* The American Heart Association (Ohio Valley Affiliate) will receive $50,000 to launch a pilot project with Cleveland Municipal Schools to develop a hands-on program designed to improve Cleveland students' heart health and awareness of childhood obesity -- which also could ultimately help students across the U.S.
In Central and Southern Ohio
* The Columbus Medical Association Foundation will receive $100,000 to help support Access HealthColumbus, a program that directs funding to health care professionals to increase services to the uninsured. It links needy Franklin County residents with primary care doctors and specialists and makes sure they receive the medications they need.
* The Know Your Numbers Coalition, formed four years ago to address the above average incidence of heart disease in the Miami Valley of Ohio (Dayton), will receive a $65,000 grant to help encourage middle-aged women to know their blood pressure and cholesterol numbers and to work with their doctors accordingly.
* The Center for Closing the Health Gap, developed to address racial and ethnic health disparities in the Greater Cincinnati region, will receive $125,000 over two years. The grant will help establish a program to train and assist faith-based organizations to promote healthy, active lifestyles through health ministries.
Statewide and National
* The Ohio Association of Free Clinics will receive $75,000 this year to implement an obesity education program at specific free clinic sites for residents in several Ohio cities including Cleveland and Columbus.
* Lenscrafters, Inc., based in Cincinnati, will receive a $24,000 grant to support their "Gift of Sight" mobile screening program which will travel to several cities throughout the country this year, including Cleveland and Columbus.
"We believe the resources provided through the Anthem Foundation echo the support Cleveland received during its first successful public/private partnerships in the late 1970's," said Joseph M. LaGuardia, regional vice president for Anthem in Northern Ohio. "Those initiatives -- much like the funding for the Historic Warehouse District -- set the stage for other successful efforts that included the Cleveland Gateway Project, Jacobs Field, and Gund Arena. We couldn't be more pleased to participate in Cleveland's renaissance than in this way."
"It is a thrill to be able to provide worthy organizations with the funding needed to carry on their missions, all which help the people in our communities lead healthy lifestyles, and manage illness," said John Martie, Anthem's regional vice president for Central and Southern Ohio
The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation is a private corporate Foundation dedicated to promoting the health and well-being of the communities where Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield works and lives through targeted charitable giving. Established in 2000, the Foundation awards grants to programs and initiatives that: help people in Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield communities manage and improve their health; enrich the greater community; or are supported by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield associates. For more information about the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, contact Vicki Perkins at (317) 488-6216.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue ShieldCONTACT: Northern Ohio, Chip Palazzo, +1-216-643-0101,chip.palazzo@anthem.com , or Central/Southern Ohio, Kim Ashley,+1-513-682-8863, kim.ashley@anthem.com , both of Anthem Blue Cross and BlueShield