Abbott Employees Give Back to Local Communities This Holi...( Abbott Fund and Abbott Employees Giv...),Health

Abbott Fund and Abbott Employees Give More Than $7.2 Million and Volunteer Thousands of Hours to Help Those in Need in Communities Across the Country

ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- This holiday season, Abbott employees are reaching out to help their neighbors, providing more than $7.2 million in support for health and human service organizations in communities across the country. These employee contributions from the company's annual giving campaign are part of the nearly $300 million in grants and products Abbott and Abbott Fund donate each year.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071121/AQW041)

Charitable giving by Abbott employees across the country increased nearly 25 percent from the company's annual giving campaign in 2006. Abbott employees pledged donations to more than 4,000 different civic organizations, non-governmental organizations and other non-profit groups.

But financial donations are only part of how Abbott's people give back -- Abbott employees are also volunteering in their local communities to help make a difference in people's lives during the holidays and throughout the year.

Katryn Amundson, a senior specialist in marketing at Abbott Spine in Austin, Texas, supports AIDS Services of Austin (ASA) through Abbott's employee giving campaign, and also serves as a board member and volunteer. Amundson has a personal connection to ASA's mission of supporting people and families affected by HIV/AIDS, having lost both her parents to AIDS when she was just a child. "I'm proud to work for a company that does so much to help people affected by this life-changing disease, both globally and in our own neighborhoods," says Amundson. "Volunteering with ASA, I've had the opportunity to help families affected by AIDS, but I've gained as much as I've given. I've been truly inspired by a community of people who have had expe
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