Blessings in a Backpack, Cigna Foundation and Cigna Provide Weekend Meals to Sully Elementary School Students
March 19 2015 - 1:00PM
Business Wire
- More than 500 students will receive
food-filled backpacks at kickoff tomorrow
- Program will feed 200 grade-school
students throughout the school year
Two hundred students at Sully Elementary School will receive
backpacks filled with healthy food each weekend throughout the
school year, made possible through a Cigna Foundation grant to
Blessings in a Backpack. The national child hunger relief
non-profit will implement a three-year program as part of Loudoun
County Public Schools Backpack Coalition Program, which supports
existing school programs that provide food for hungry students
during the weekends and extended breaks. To kick off the program,
which is sponsored by Cigna (NYSE:CI), all 500 Sully Elementary
School students will receive backpacks during a special event
tomorrow morning.
200 students at Sully Elementary will
receive backpacks filled with healthy food each weekend throughout
the school year, made possible through a Cigna Foundation grant to
Blessings in a Backpack. (Photo: Business Wire)
The event will begin with an assembly to teach students about
the importance of proper nutrition for healthy bodies, and will
include a special performance from the fourth and fifth grade
classes at Sully Elementary. Loudoun County Public School
Superintendent Dr. Eric Williams will attend, along with
representatives from the Loudoun County Public School Board, Cigna
and Blessings in a Backpack.
"Our backpacks give children the food they need during those
times when free or reduced-priced school lunches are not available,
such as on weekends," said Kevin Beam, chief operating officer for
Blessings in a Backpack. "Working with the Cigna Foundation and
Cigna will help bring national attention to the Blessings mission
of feeding hungry children. Together, we can fight to end childhood
hunger."
“The Cigna Foundation is committed to building a future where
every child has the opportunity to achieve a healthier, more secure
life,” said David Figliuzzi, executive director of the Cigna
Foundation. “Hunger has a significant impact on a child’s physical,
mental and academic well-being. By working together with Blessings,
we can ensure students come to school each day healthy, engaged and
ready to learn.”
“Loudoun County faces a 10.7 percent food insecurity rate among
children, meaning more than 10,000 kids in our community do not
know where their next meal will come from,” said Julia Huggins,
president of Cigna's Mid-Atlantic market. “We are proud to work
with Blessings in a Backpack to help ease this worry for families
in Loudoun County and to help them stay well."
Blessings in a Backpack is a results-oriented program designed
to feed elementary school children whose families qualify for the
federally funded National School Lunch Program and have little or
no access to healthy food on the weekends. The program is supported
nationally and locally by the Cigna Foundation and Cigna. Child
wellness is a key focus of Cigna’s corporate responsibility
platform, Cigna Connects. In addition, Rich Stephens,
Cigna's vice president of business development, serves on the
Blessings in a Backpack board of directors.
Funding for the food-filled backpacks was provided by the Cigna
Foundation. Cigna and the Cigna Foundation have contributed
$450,000 to Blessings in a Backpack, including a $100,000 World of
Difference grant to expand the program’s reach nationwide.
About Blessings in a Backpack
Blessings in a Backpack, People Magazine’s Charity of 2012, is a
results-oriented program that is designed to feed elementary school
children whose families qualify for the federally funded National
School Lunch Program and have little or no food on the weekends.
Better test scores, improved reading skills, positive behavior,
improved health and increased attendance have all been attributed
to the success of this program. As little as $100 feeds one
American school child in our program for an entire 38-week school
year. Blessings in a Backpack is currently feeding over 72,000
children in 44 states, the District of Columbia and 700+ schools.
Please visit www.blessingsinabackpack.org. We are Feeding the
Future of America® – one school at a time.
About the Cigna Foundation
The Cigna Foundation is a private foundation funded by
contributions from Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) and its
subsidiaries. The Cigna Foundation supports organizations sharing
its commitment to enhancing the health of individuals and families,
and the well-being of their communities, with a special focus on
those communities where Cigna employees live and work.
About Cigna
Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI) is a global health service company
dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and
sense of security. All products and services are provided
exclusively by or through operating subsidiaries of Cigna
Corporation, including Connecticut General Life Insurance Company,
Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Life Insurance Company of
North America and Cigna Life Insurance Company of New York. Such
products and services include an integrated suite of health
services, such as medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy,
vision, supplemental benefits, and other related products including
group life, accident and disability insurance. Cigna maintains
sales capability in 30 countries and jurisdictions, and has
approximately 85 million customer relationships throughout the
world. To learn more about Cigna®, including links to follow us on
Facebook or Twitter, visit www.cigna.com.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20150319005876/en/
CignaLauren Moyer, 215-761-3647Lauren.Moyer@Cigna.comorBlessings
in a BackpackJenny Scherer,
757-810-6036jennyscherer@blessingsinabackpack.org
Cigna (NYSE:CI)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Cigna (NYSE:CI)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024