Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation and Plan Associates Pledge More Than $880,000 to Community Organizatio...( Statewide Not-for-Profit Organizati...),Health

Statewide Not-for-Profit Organizations To Receive Support from Associate

Giving, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield today announced that its associates have pledged more than $880,000 to support not-for-profit organizations in Kentucky in 2008 as part of the company's Associate Giving Campaign.

"The generosity shown by our associates during this campaign highlights their integrity and commitment to improving the community where they live and work," said Deborah Moessner, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Kentucky. "I am grateful for the incredible generosity of our associates and am proud that we are living the mission of our organization in every day ways."

The funds pledged by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's associates will receive a 50 percent match from the WellPoint Foundation, the parent foundation of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, increasing the total to more than $880,000. These funds will help hundreds of not-for-profit organizations fulfill their missions. The WellPoint Foundation is one of the nation's largest corporate foundations with net assets of nearly $200 million.

Across the country, associates of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's parent company, WellPoint, Inc., pledged more than $15 million, surpassing the national goal of $13.8 million. The 50 percent match from the WellPoint Foundation will raise the total to more than $23 million.

During 2007, the WellPoint Foundation and its subsidiary state foundations funded $20 million in grants to numerous programs across the country. In many instances, the foundations provide emergency grants to support communities affected by disasters.

"Through our Foundations and our social responsibility programs, we put the full weight of the company into finding lasting solutions to the social issues we understand best-health care qual
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