WellPoint Joins $1 Million Donors to the American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program

Assistance Critical to Enabling Red Cross to Respond to Disasters in the U.S.

WASHINGTON, March 5, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Red Cross today recognized WellPoint Inc. and the WellPoint Foundation for its commitments of $1M in 2012 and in 2013 in support of Red Cross disaster response work through the Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP).

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090108/RedCrossLOGO)

Members of the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program pledge donations on an ongoing basis, in advance of major disasters, to help the Red Cross ensure an immediate response to meet the needs of those affected by disasters of all sizes, at no cost and regardless of income.

"The generous support of WellPoint and its associates will help the Red Cross immediately respond to the needs of people impacted by disaster throughout the United States," said American Red Cross President and CEO Gail McGovern. "As a member at the $1 million level, WellPoint is helping to create a reliable funding base for disaster relief services, providing food, shelter, emotional support and other essential assistance to disaster victims."

One of the nation's largest health benefits companies, WellPoint joined the Red Cross ADGP in 2012 as part of its commitment to improve the lives of the people it serves and the health of American communities. The men and women of WellPoint give to the Red Cross through the company's annual Associate Giving Campaign, and all campaign pledges receive a 50 percent match from the WellPoint Foundation. This year, its more than 36,000 associates elected to increase their commitment to help the Red Cross help communities in need.   

"We are honored to be a part of the Annual Disaster Giving Program and thank the Red Cross for all they do," said Lance Chrisman, executive director of the WellPoint Foundation. "We believe a proactive approach is the best approach when it comes to storm and disaster relief. By donating before disaster strikes we're working to make sure the Red Cross has the tools and resources it needs to be able to quickly provide assistance and support."

Other members of the Annual Disaster Giving Program include major leading companies such as 3M; Altria Group; Aon; Bank of America; BNY Mellon; Briggs & Stratton Corporation; Caterpillar Inc.; Cisco Foundation; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Community Safety Foundation funded by AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah Insurance Exchange; ConAgra Foods Foundation; Costco Wholesale Corporation; Darden Restaurants, Inc.; Dell Inc.; Disney; Dr Pepper Snapple Group; Edison International; FedEx Corporation, GE Foundation; Hewlett-Packard Company Foundation; The Home Depot Foundation; Humble Bundle; John Deere Foundation; Johnson Controls; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; Kraft Foods Group; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; Merck Co. Foundation; Mondelez International; Nationwide Insurance Foundation, Northrop Grumman; Optum; PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation; Southwest Airlines; Sprint; State Farm; State Street; Target; Texas Instruments; The TJX Companies, Inc.; UnitedHealthcare; University of Phoenix; UPS; Walmart; and Wells Fargo.

People can join the Annual Disaster Giving Program members in supporting Red Cross Disaster Relief and help provide food, shelter, emotional support and other assistance to the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year. Visit redcross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make a donation.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

About WellPoint, Inc.
At WellPoint, we believe there is an important connection between our members' health and well-being—and the value we bring our customers and shareholders. So each day we work to improve the health of our members and their communities. And, we can make a real difference since we have more than 36 million people in our affiliated health plans, and nearly 67 million people served through our subsidiaries. As an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, WellPoint serves members as the Blue Cross licensee for California; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as the Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee in 10 New York City metropolitan and surrounding counties and as the Blue Cross or Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee in selected upstate counties only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.),and Wisconsin. In a majority of these service areas, WellPoint's plans do business as Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, or Empire Blue Cross (in the New York service areas). WellPoint also serves customers throughout the country as UniCare and in certain markets through our Amerigroup and CareMore subsidiaries. Our 1-800 CONTACTS, Inc. subsidiary offers customers online sales of contact lenses, eyeglasses and other ocular products. Additional information about WellPoint is available at www.wellpoint.com.

About WellPoint Foundation
The WellPoint Foundation is the philanthropic arm of WellPoint, Inc. and through charitable contributions and programs, the Foundation promotes the inherent commitment of WellPoint, Inc. to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that WellPoint, Inc. and its affiliated health plans serve. The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that address and provide innovative solutions to health care challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets specific disease states and medical conditions. These disease states and medical conditions include: prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the company's annual associate giving campaign and provides a 50 percent match of associates' campaign pledges. To learn more about the WellPoint Foundation, please visit www.wellpointfoundation.org, as well as its Tumblr blog at http://wellpointfoundation.tumblr.com.

SOURCE American Red Cross