Anthem Blue Cross And Blue Shield Foundation Committed $1.8 Million To Improving Health And Strengthening Colorado Communities In 2016
DENVER, February 6, 2017 /3BL Media/ – Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield today announced that its foundation and 2,000 associates in Colorado contributed $1.8 million and 2,100 volunteer hours to health-related causes and community events in 2016.
“We’ve had deep roots in communities throughout Colorado for 79 years,” said Mike Ramseier, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Colorado. “We’ve always believed that we have an obligation as a company to make our communities better and healthier. I am pleased that we fulfilled that commitment to Colorado again in 2016.”
Highlights included:
- Hundreds of youth learned the importance of healthy, active lifestyles through Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation’s support of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Seven grants were awarded to clubs in Pueblo County, Larimer County, the San Luis Valley, Colorado Springs and Denver.
- Working with the American Heart Association, 250 people were trained in hands-only CPR, part of a national effort to increase the survival rate of those who suffer cardiac arrest.
- A team of 60 Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield associates rode in Colorado Bike MS in Ft. Collins and raised more than $40,000 for the National MS Society.
- We provided adaptive sports programming to Disabled Sports USA for 80 youth and wounded warriors in Denver.
- In partnership with the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes, we provided dozens of blind and visually impaired athletes opportunities to increase physical activity through goal ball, running, yoga, exercise classes and rowing.
- A grant of nearly $600,000 to the philanthropic arm of the Colorado Hospital Association is aimed at reducing the number of low-birth weight deliveries and preterm births in the state.
- Financial support for the American Lung Association resulted in hundreds of Coloradans enrolling in smoking cessation programs throughout the year.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield associates also contributed personally and financially to improving Colorado communities last year, volunteering more than 2,100 hours of service and making charitable donations that totaled nearly $200,000 with a match from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation.
“We are proud to serve more than one million Coloradans,” said Ramseier. “Our 2,000 associates know that Colorado is a great place to live and do business. In 2017, we will continue to work with the nonprofit community to improve the health and well-being of all who call Colorado home.”
About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Colorado
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name of Rocky Mountain Hospital and Medical Service, Inc., an independent licensee of the Blue Cross 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. Additional information about Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Colorado is available at www.anthem.com.
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.
About Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally-operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide healthcare coverage for more than 106 million members – one-in-three Americans. For more information on the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and its member companies, please visit bcbs.com. We encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out The BCBS Blog, for up-to-date information about BCBSA.
