WOONSOCKET, R.I., Dec. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its
commitment to building healthier communities, the Aetna Foundation
today announced it will be donating a total of $1 million to the Boys & Girls Clubs of
Providence and Hartford. Both locations will receive
$500,000 over the next five
years.
The new funding from the Aetna Foundation, a private foundation
affiliated with CVS Health, will help the Boys & Girls Clubs to
reach hundreds of additional young people through innovative and
effective programming. The grants will support programs that are
focused on preventing underage substance misuse, including tobacco
and vaping products, while also providing guidance on how to
improve the overall health of youth in these communities.
"We know how important it is to teach healthy behaviors from a
young age in order to ensure that young people have the tools and
refusal skills they need to stay away from harmful habits like
smoking," said Dr. Garth Graham,
Vice President, Community Health & Impact, CVS Health and
President, Aetna Foundation. "We
believe the Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence and Hartford are uniquely equipped to help us
evaluate the best approaches to educate young people about the
dangers of substance misuse and teach healthy lifestyle choices.
From there, we'll aim to replicate the successful approaches across
other relationships and geographies."
The majority of the funding will help deliver "Positive Action"
- a nationally acclaimed prevention program originally developed
through partnerships between prevention specialists and Boys &
Girls Clubs around the country – to more young people in these
communities. Participants in the "Positive Action" program are
exposed to a variety of activities designed to hone their
decision-making and critical thinking skills and help them learn
how to avoid and resist alcohol, tobacco, other drugs, and
premature sexual activity.
"Positive Action is a comprehensive strategy that helps
young people better navigate the challenging path from childhood to
adulthood," said Nicole Dufresne,
CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence. "We are confident that the youth
and teens who participate in this program will be armed with the
crucial knowledge needed to lead a healthy lifestyle and have a
great future. And we truly appreciate the support from both the CVS
Health Foundation and Aetna Foundation, who have consistently been
great community partners to us over the years."
These grants are part of CVS Health's commitment to help deliver
the first tobacco-free generation. Through Be The First, the
company and its foundations have committed to invest $50 million over five years to help deliver the
first tobacco-free generation. These grants support efforts around
healthy behavior programming for young people to ensure they have
the tools and refusal skills they need to lead the healthiest
lifestyle.
These grants also celebrate the long-standing commitment Boys
& Girls Clubs have on helping our youth to be the best that
they can be. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence is the longest continuously
operating Boys & Girls Club in the country and the Boys &
Girls Clubs of Hartford were the
first ever Clubs to be formed. In addition to previous grants to
the Boys & Girls Clubs in Hartford and Providence, CVS Health and Aetna colleagues
regularly volunteer at locations throughout the home states of
Rhode Island and Connecticut. The hundreds of colleague
volunteer hours support large-scale annual events for the Boys
& Girls Clubs in Hartford and
Providence, as well as day-to-day
interaction with young people participating in programs at these
locations.
About the Aetna Foundation
The Aetna
Foundation is an independent charitable and philanthropic
affiliate of CVS Health (NYSE: CVS). As a national health
foundation, the Aetna Foundation promotes wellness, health and
access to high-quality health care for everyone. This work is
enhanced by the time and commitment of Aetna employees, who
volunteered 670,000 hours in 2018 alone. For more information,
visit www.aetnafoundation.org.
Media Contacts:
Erin Britt
(401) 770-9237
erin.britt@cvshealth.com
Ethan Slavin
(860) 273-6095
slavine@aetna.com
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SOURCE Aetna Foundation