Every Friday, 20 million children across the U.S. leave school uncertain
if there will be a meal for them at home over the weekend. To help
nourish children nationwide, the Cigna Foundation today announced that
Blessings in a Backpack is the new recipient of a $100,000 World of
Difference grant for its program to feed schoolchildren on weekends.
“By working with Blessings in a Backpack, Cigna can fill the most basic
need for children – food – a need that is fundamental to children’s
ability to thrive and to grow up to be healthy and well,” said David
Figliuzzi, executive director of the Cigna Foundation.
The Cigna Foundation established the new World of Difference grants this
year to work with nonprofits that are improving children’s wellness,
senior care, women’s health and health equity – which represent the four
social priorities for Cigna's corporate responsibility platform known as
Cigna Connects. Grant recipients are chosen according to Cigna’s mission
and opportunities to work with Cigna toward achieving meaningful change
with measurable impact on health and well-being.
Blessings in a Backpack provides elementary schoolchildren who are
enrolled in the federal Free and Reduced Price Meal Program with a
backpack of food to take home for 38 weekends during the school year.
Backpack food includes easy-to-prepare, ready-to-eat foods like granola
bars, juice boxes, raisins and oatmeal.
“The consequences of hunger are much more than a growling stomach,” said
Brooke Wiseman, Blessings in a Backpack’s chief executive officer. “Poor
nutrition can result in a weaker immune system, increased
hospitalization, lower IQ, shorter attention spans, and lower academic
achievement. Children are fed during the school week by federal
government programs, but we want to make sure they’re getting nutritious
meals over the weekend, too.”
Founded at two schools in Louisville, Kentucky, Blessings in a Backpack
has grown to a national organization serving more than 65,000 school
children at 634 schools in 45 U.S. states and Washington D.C. At these
schools, community volunteers – with support from Blessings in a
Backpack's national office – secure food, fill and distribute backpacks.
As part of Cigna’s commitment to Blessings in a Backpack, Cigna employee
teams will volunteer at schools to help stuff backpacks with food.
Childhood hunger is a national problem with children in every zip code
facing food insecurity. Blessings in a Backpack’s structure was
developed to be easily and quickly replicated to help children receive
weekend nutrition as quickly as possible. The program has been extremely
successful: Blessings in a Backpack has experienced 700 percent growth
since its incorporation in 2008.
“Our grant to Blessings in a Backpack brings us a step closer to
creating a country where no child is hungry and all children are ready
to learn, grow and pursue their dreams,” Figliuzzi said.
About the Cigna Foundation
The Cigna Foundation, founded in 1962, is a private foundation funded by
contributions from Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) and its subsidiaries.
The Cigna Foundation supports organizations sharing its commitment to
enhancing the health of individuals and families, and the well-being of
their communities, with a special focus on those communities where Cigna
employees live and work.
About Cigna
Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) is a global health service company
dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and sense
of security. All products and services are provided exclusively by or
through operating subsidiaries of Cigna Corporation, including
Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, Cigna Health and Life
Insurance Company, Life Insurance Company of North America and Cigna
Life Insurance Company of New York. Such products and services include
an integrated suite of health services, such as medical, dental,
behavioral health, pharmacy, vision, supplemental benefits, and other
related products including group life, accident and disability
insurance. Cigna maintains sales capability in 30 countries and
jurisdictions, and has more than 80 million customer relationships
throughout the world. To learn more about Cigna®, including links to
follow us on Facebook or Twitter, visit www.cigna.com.
About Blessings in a Backpack
Blessings in a Backpack is a results-oriented program. This unique
program is designed to feed elementary school children whose families
qualify for the federally funded National School Lunch Program and have
little or no food on the weekends. Better test scores, improved reading
skills, positive behavior, improved health and increased attendance have
all been attributed to the success of this program. $80 feeds one
American school child in our program for an entire 38-week school year.
Blessings in a Backpack is currently feeding over 65,000 children in 634
schools across 45 U.S. states and three countries (see all at blessingsinabackpack.org/programlocations).
We are Feeding the Future of America® – one school at a time.
Copyright Business Wire 2014