NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., June 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie, a global biopharmaceutical company, and its key partners celebrate the launch of the fourth annual "Week of Possibilities," with more than 6,000 employees expected to volunteer  26,000+ hours in the communities where they live and work. AbbVie volunteers will join forces with nonprofit partners like Heart of America Foundation and Points of Light, engaging in hands-on projects that largely focus on improving educational opportunities for children in underserved communities.

"With events in more than 50 countries, Week of Possibilities is one of the biggest and farthest-reaching programs we help facilitate," said Gared Jones, senior vice president, Points of Light, the world's largest organization dedicated to volunteer service. "It's a joy to help employees create impact by focusing on the most meaningful needs in their communities and to watch these transformations take place around the world."

AbbVie launched Week of Possibilities in 2014, focusing on projects in North Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., where the company is based. The AbbVie initiative continued to grow, and in 2016, the program volunteered more than 25,000 service hours in 50 countries. Week of Possibilities is powered by the AbbVie Foundation, which provides funding for school renovations, public libraries, computer labs and science labs, playgrounds and housing.

"Week of Possibilities demonstrates our deep commitment to giving back to our communities and people in need. These volunteer opportunities are critically important to who we are as a company and the fabric of our culture. I am tremendously proud of the remarkable impact we make during Week of Possibilities and beyond," said Richard A. Gonzalez, chairman and chief executive officer, AbbVie.

Some of the service projects include:

• In Lake County, Illinois, U.S.A., AbbVie's headquarters, approximately 2,500 AbbVie volunteers will lead science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) initiatives for school-age children, renovate classrooms and meeting spaces of North Chicago Community High School, and build a new playground at A.J. Katzenmaier Academy. At Bernie's Book Bank, volunteers will sort and process 500,000 books for 75,000 students in the Chicagoland area.
• In Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.A., AbbVie volunteers will transform the Science Lab at Worcester East Middle School, bringing new technology, books, lab materials and equipment to the 890 students, faculty and families the school serves.
• In San Jose, California, U.S.A., AbbVie and Pharmacyclics volunteers will build a playground in just six hours, to support the rapidly growing student body of Los Arboles Elementary School. Local children put crayon to paper to draw their dream playgrounds, and these concepts were used to design the brand-new play space.
• In Phoenix, Arizona; Los Angeles, California; Tampa, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Kansas City, Missouri; Brooklyn, New York; Dallas, Texas; Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; AbbVie's field-based teams will partner with Heart of America on additional educational renovation projects around the United States.

"Building community is at the heart of our mission and AbbVie's as well," said Jill Heath, president and CEO of Heart of America Foundation. "We are thrilled to continue touching communities from coast-to-coast in the United States and Puerto Rico this year during AbbVie's Week of Possibilities."

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About AbbVie
AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company committed to developing innovative advanced therapies for some of the world's most complex and critical conditions. The company's mission is to use its expertise, dedicated people and unique approach to innovation to markedly improve treatments across four primary therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, virology and neuroscience.  In more than 75 countries, AbbVie employees are working every day to advance health solutions for people around the world. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.

About The AbbVie Foundation
The AbbVie Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) foundation, is dedicated to having a remarkable impact on the lives of the underserved around the world through a commitment to building strong communities, sustainable health care systems and effective educational programs. For more information please visit www.abbviefoundation.org.

About Bernie's Book Bank
Bernie's Book Bank sources, processes and distributes quality children's books to significantly increase book ownership among at-risk infants, toddlers and school-age children throughout Chicagoland. Bernie's Book Bank delivers 12 quality books per year to empower at-risk children, ages birth through sixth grade, to read their way to a better life. Since 2009, Bernie's Book Bank has distributed more than 9 MILLION quality books. In cooperation with 25,000+ volunteers, this year Bernie's Book Bank will serve more than 333,000 at-risk children with 12 quality children's books annually. For more information about Bernie's Book Bank, visit www.berniesbookbank.org   

About Heart of America
The Heart of America transforms spaces into modern learning environments so that students and communities can learn and grow. Over the past 20 years, Heart of America has transformed more than 360 educational spaces and provided over 1 million children living in poverty with over 4 million library and take-home books. The national nonprofit has engaged volunteers in more than 1,075,000 hours of service to communities nationwide. For more information, please visit www.heartofamerica.org.

About KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to giving all kids – particularly those growing up in poverty in America – the childhood they deserve filled with balanced and active play, so they can thrive.  Since1996, KaBOOM! has collaborated with partners to build, open, or improve more than 16,700 playgrounds, engaged more than one million volunteers, and served 8.5 million kids. KaBOOM! creates great places to play, inspires communities to promote and support play, and works to drive the national discussion about the importance of play in fostering healthy and productive lives.  To learn why #playmatters and why cities are embracing #playability: visit kaboom.org or join the conversation at twitter.com/kaboom or facebook.com/kaboom.

About North Chicago Community Partners
North Chicago Community Partners (NCCP) was created in 2008 to help address the significant challenges facing the children and families of North Chicago. During the past eight years, NCCP has evolved from a well-intentioned idea into a highly regarded model for supporting public education in under-funded communities.  Through its unique community school model, NCCP now supports the children, families and staff of every public school in North Chicago, pre-kindergarten through grade 12.  By leveraging the resources of the broader community, NCCP is able to provide a menu of programs and services that complement classroom instruction, enhance student learning, strengthen school climate, actively engage parents and address the needs of the whole child.

About Points of Light
Points of Light – the world's largest organization dedicated to volunteer service – mobilizes millions of people to take action that is changing the world. Through affiliates in 250 cities and partnerships with thousands of nonprofits and corporations, Points of Light engages 4 million volunteers in 30 million hours of service each year. We bring the power of people to bear where it's needed most. For more information, go to www.pointsoflight.org.

SOURCE AbbVie

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