News

AETNA PRESENTS $50K CHECK TO KING CENTER

DONATION SUPPORTS HEALTH AND WELLNESS FORUM

King Center President & C.E.O. Mr. Isaac Newton Farris (center) accepts $50,000 outsized check from Ms. Cindy Follmer (3rd from, rt),President of Georgia Market for Aetna. Also in photo: Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall (far left); King Center Vice Chair/Treasurer Christine King Farris (2nd from left); Elder Bernice A. King, (3rd from left); Mrs. Naomi B. King (2nd from right) ; and Aetna’s Director of Business Development Laurel Levy (far rt.) The Aetna Foundation contribution will support The King Center’s annual ‘Salute to Greatness Dinner’ on January 16, 2010 and the Health and Wellness Forum on January 9, 2010

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ATLANTA . . . Aetna today presented a $50,000 check to The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in support of two key programs. Ms. Cindy Follmer, Head of Georgia Market for Aetna, presented the outsized check to The King Center.

“Once again this year, Aetna is delighted to join the King Center in this vitally important effort,” said Cynthia Follmer, Aetna’s Georgia market president. “At a time when our nation is evaluating ways to bring meaningful reform to the health care system, it is very important to help people learn to better manage their own health. Diseases like diabetes and obesity are serious threats to our future, especially in the African American community. Working with the King Center, Aetna is confident projects like this one can make a real difference in improving awareness and wellness in Atlanta.”

“We are extremely grateful to Aetna for their generous support and to the health professionals who volunteered their time and expertise for this life-saving program,” said King Center President and C.E.O. Isaac Newton Farris, Jr. “We were able to flag critical health concerns for many of the more than 700 persons who participated in this forum last year, and we are expecting an even larger turnout on January 9.”

Aetna’s contribution will help support The King Center’s Health and Wellness Forum on January 9, 2010. The Health and Wellness Forum will provide information, education and services to encourage better health and nutrition and it will address disparities in our communities. The Forum will convene a team of professionals with a broad spectrum of views on health, wellness and nutrition to address childhood obesity, diabetes, HIV, asthma and other health disparities. It will target youth K-12, adults, educators and community leaders from metro-Atlanta and Macon, Georgia.

The Health and Wellness Forum will include a ‘Town Hall Meeting’ providing critical information and education about nutrition, health care, physical education and recreation and a ‘Health and Wellness Fair,’ providing handouts on fitness, nutrition and other health concerns, along with free testing and screenings for: cholesterol; blood pressure; type 2 diabetes; osteoporosis; skin cancer; vision and hearing; asthma; lung capacity functions; AIDS; body mass analysis; dental testing; breast exams; organic donor information; and chair massage.

The 2010 Forum will also include, for the first time, K-6,Tweens and Teens Health Education Wellness and Awareness, which will also provide physical activities and nutrition education for youth K-12. The event will also promote awareness of major health threats facing youth in this age group, including HIV/AIDS, obesity cardiovascular disease, and substance abuse.

Organizational and individual participants confirmed to participate in the health and Wellness Forum to date include: Paradise Massage; Centers for Disease Control; the Everest Institute; VSNS, INC.; the Sickle Cell Foundation; Diabetes Association of Atlanta; Georgia Lions Lighthouse; Real Men Cook; Peach State Health Plan; Amerigroup; Georgia Families; The Breast Check King, Inc.; Foot Solutions; Not One More Life; EMS Atlanta; STAND, Inc.; Fulton County Health and Wellness, Department of Healthy Behaviors REACH for Wellness; and KISSS 104.1 broadcasting live.

The Aetna contribution will also support The King Center’s annual ‘Salute to Greatness Dinner,’ honoring distinguished leadership in the cultural and business sectors. Aetna will serve as a ‘Signature Corporate Host’ for the dinner, which will be held on January 16, 2010.

For further information about the Health and Wellness Forum, please contact Ms. Barbara Harrison at (404) 526-8961.