John Hancock Financial Twitter Site Twitter.com/JHFS_Boston26 Celebrates 26th Year of Boston Marathon Sponsorship

BOSTON, Jan. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of its 26th year as the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon, John Hancock Financial's Twitter site @JHFS_Boston26 will continue to provide tweets about the 2011 Boston Marathon and related activities to followers and marathon enthusiasts.

After launching a year ago the site has proven highly successful, gaining followers that include Olympians, elite marathoners, coaches, and fans of the sport.  Content will continue to include tweets on John Hancock's partnership with the Boston Athletic Association, the John Hancock Elite Athlete Program, Non-Profit and Employee Running and Fundraising Programs, and Marathon community initiatives.

"On April 18, the eyes of the world once again will be focused on Boston, and we hope that leading up to race day our Twitter feed will prove useful, informative and entertaining," said Rob Friedman, head of Sponsorship and Event Marketing at John Hancock.  "From sharing when Ryan Hall, Kara Goucher or Desi Davila are out training on the Boston Marathon course to letting followers know what makes this event special to non-profit community runners, we want to add to the unique appeal of the world's preeminent and oldest marathon."

John Hancock began its landmark sponsorship in 1986 and over the past 26 years has provided substantial financial support to ensure the ongoing success of the race. Each year, John Hancock recruits and sponsors a world-class, elite athlete field for the race and has provided more than $13 million in prize and bonus awards.  

John Hancock employees volunteer to help with marathon-related tasks and also participate in the race to raise money for local charities.  In 2010, nearly 1,000 John Hancock non-profit runners raised more than $4.3 million for local organizations. This fundraising and volunteer effort was part of Hancock's $11.2 million and 10,000 volunteer hours of total support given to Boston area non-profit and community service programs in 2010.

Additionally, during race week John Hancock provides resources for local school initiatives and provides a wide range of financial support and services to the towns and cities along the Marathon route.  The Company also sponsors the John Hancock Sports & Fitness Expo that draws 200 exhibitors and 80,000 visitors.

The direct and indirect economic value to the community of the Boston Marathon weekend in 2010 was calculated at $122.7 million, according to Greater Boston Convention & Visitor Bureau.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial Corporation

John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 22 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, Manulife Financial Corporation offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. For more than 120 years, clients have looked to Manulife for strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most significant financial decisions. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$474 billion (US$460 billion) as at September 30, 2010.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial may be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of financial products and services, including life insurance, fixed and variable annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at www.johnhancock.com.

SOURCE John Hancock Financial