Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/479641
P H o t o g r a P H i c m o m e n t s 1 4 9 Cornerstone Partner in the reinvigorated New Haven Open at Yale, Aetna is focused on activities that will engage the whole family in the excitement of the tournament and the health and vitality that come with physical activity such as tennis. Aetna also announced a three-year, $500,000 commitment to professional hockey in Hartford. As the first member of the Whaler's Alliance, is the title sponsor of the Connecticut Whale's new Amateur Hockey program. Aetna also has provided long term support for the Go Red for Women movement in Connecticut, which is part of a national effort by the American Heart Association to inform, empower and rally women to stop car- diovascular disease, the No. 1 cause of death among women. Each year the dis- ease claims the lives of 500,000 women. Go Red for Women offers educational programs, advancing women's under- standing about their risk for heart dis- ease and providing tools and motivation to help women reduce their risk. Aetna has also been a multi-year spon- sor of Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall camps. These camps serve more than 44,000 children with cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, asthma, hemophil- ia, and other serious illnesses by enabling them to enjoy an empowering outdoor recreational summer camp experience free of charge. An initial grant in 2009 of $50,000 launched the Hole in the Wall Camp Challenge Ride, raising $215,000 for the original Hole in the Wall Gang camp in Ashford, Connecticut. Based on its success, Aetna expanded the grant the following year to $250,000 to support rides benefiting the Ashford camp as well as two other Hole in the Wall camps in New York and California. Aetna's Volunteer Councils helped to develop and manage regional Team Hole in the Wall Camp Challenge Rides. In 2011, Aetna committed another $210,000 for a total of five rides across the country with the expectation that in total these events will raise up to half a million dollars for the camps across the coun- try. In addition to supporting the rides, many Aetna volunteers participate in volunteer days and team marathon events, craft no-sew blankets for campers and support the overall needs of the camps. Aetna and the Aetna Foundation have given sub- stantial support to the arts and cultural life of its hometown. "Arts affect our bodies," says Kate Bolduc, CEO of the Greater Hartford Arts Council. "A 2009 study found that by simply listening to music, you could decrease your blood pressure, lower your heart rate, and ease anxiety." Aetna is the named sponsor of the Greater Hartford Arts Council's Aetna First Thursdays, featuring a variety of music, theater, exhi- bitions and other cultural events. Through its fund- ing of the Greater Hartford Arts Council, Aetna is able to offer financial support to numerous arts insti- tutions and programs across Hartford, including TheaterWorks, The Hartford Stage, The Bushnell, the Wadsworth Atheneum and other institutions. The ripple effect of these actions is far-reaching, inf luencing 33,000 employees, the nearly 10,000 nonprofit organizations they support, and ultimate- ly, the individuals whose lives are enriched by Aetna's Culture of Caring and its efforts to make the world a better place. "We're in the business of helping people live full and healthy lives, and embracing our corporate citizenship is fundamental to our ability to fulfill that mission," said former chairman and CEO Ronald A. Williams in Aetna's 2010 corporate responsibility report. The Holiday Spirit – Aetna Chairman, CEO and President Mark Bertolini and employee Denise Zachmann celebrate the generosity of Aetna employees, surrounded by more than 600 gaily wrapped packages of toys, warm clothing, household goods and gift cards for people in need that were purchased by employees through the annual giving tree program. The Aetna Founda- tion also presented surprise $2,000 holiday grants to the 13 nonprofit partners that identified the families to receive the gifts to help the organizations better serve their clients.

