Arizona Bridge to Independent Living (ABIL), which provides independent living services to people with disabilities throughout Maricopa and Pinal County, has been awarded a $100,000 grant as the winner of the Humana Communities Benefit program in Arizona, funded by health care company Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM).
ABIL assists approximately 12,500 people with disabilities on an annual basis to help them garner the necessary skills and motivation to be integrated into the community, such as housing, transportation, health care, employment and socialization. With the $100,000 Humana Communities Benefit grant, the organization will purchase adaptive exercise and fitness equipment – specifically designed for the physically disabled – for the newly constructed Virginia G. Piper Sports & Fitness Center for Persons with Disabilities, one of only two facilities nationwide to provide this type of sports and wellness service.
“The majority of health clubs and competitive sports programs are not able to provide the kinds of accessible resources necessary to serve people with disabilities, and many can only obtain access to adaptive fitness equipment through expensive and inconvenient physician-prescribed therapies,” said Phil Pangrazio, president and CEO of ABIL. “Thanks to the Humana Communities Benefit grant, we will be able to provide people with disabilities with accessible weight training and cardiovascular equipment that will help them develop both strength and self-confidence.”
Data from the 2007 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System shows that 58 percent of Maricopa County adults are overweight or obese. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that children and adults with disabilities are at the greatest risk for obesity due to a lack accessible exercise environments, access to a variety of healthy food choices, as well as physical limitations and less energy. The Virginia G. Piper Sports & Fitness Center for Persons with Disabilities, which opens Oct. 31, will provide a health club atmosphere with equipment and resources adaptable to people with various disabilities, as well as access to health, wellness and nutrition programs.
Using the $100,000 grant, the Center will purchase adaptive equipment, such as rowing machines, dumbbell sets and a wheelchair scale to complete the facility. The Center will also purchase the FreeMotion Vertex, which provides whole-body vibration training, and the GameCycle, which allows users to play interactive video games while gaining strength, endurance and core stability. By supplying this specialized equipment, ABIL hopes to reduce doctor visits, boost community participation and increase both confidence and the potential for independent living.
“With nearly half a million people in our community living with a disability, we are thrilled to help Arizona Bridge to Independent Living fulfill its mission by providing the organization with the Humana Communities Benefit grant,” said Curt Howell, president of commercial operations for Humana in Arizona and co-chairman of this year’s charitable awards program.
“The spirit behind our charitable initiative is to provide essential funding to an organization that works to strengthen the health and well-being of our Phoenix-area community,” said Mike Franks, regional president of Senior Products for Humana’s West Coast Region and co-chairman of the awards program. “We are confident that the organization’s new fitness center for children, adults and seniors with disabilities will accomplish this task.”
After ABIL was awarded the $100,000 grant at a celebratory gala on Oct. 25 at the Westin Phoenix Downtown Hotel, the two other grant finalists, A New Leaf and the Upward Foundation, were also awarded donations from Humana.
A panel of local judges, comprised of community leaders and business representatives, worked with Humana to select the $100,000 grant winner. Finalists made a formal presentation before the panel of judges. The local judges who assisted in this year’s decision included Jacob Brown from Willis; Gregg Carter from the Humana Foundation; Dave Dexter from Sonora Quest Labs; Brian Friedman from the City of Glendale; Rebecca Hudson from Arizona Chamber of Commerce; Debbie James from HealthWays; Teri Knick from the Leona Group; Jeri Kendle from the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center; John Slater from Marreel Slater Insurance; Hugh Smith from First Tee of Phoenix; Jim Stone from Swift Charities of Children; Cheryl Vogt from Marsh; Ginger Ward from Southwest Human Development; and Steve Ward from Hays Companies.
Now in its fifth year, the Humana Communities Benefit program in Arizona awards a one-time, $100,000 grant to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on improving health experiences or building healthy communities in Maricopa County. The winner of the 2010 grant, Southwest Human Development, opened a shop where a wide range of individualized adaptive supports could be fabricated or designed for children with disabilities. Since opening in April 2011, the shop – the only facility of its kind in Maricopa County – has helped more than 40 families with more than 70 individual adaptations.
For more information on the Humana Communities Benefit program in Arizona, visit www.humana.com/HCB.
About Humana
Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is a leading consumer-focused health care company that offers a wide range of insurance products and health and wellness services that incorporate an integrated approach to lifelong well-being. By leveraging the strengths of its core businesses, Humana believes it can better explore opportunities for existing and emerging adjacencies in health care that can further enhance wellness opportunities for the millions of people across the nation with whom the company has relationships.
More information regarding Humana is available to investors via the Investor Relations page of the company’s web site at www.humana.com, including copies of:
· Annual reports to stockholders · Securities and Exchange Commission filings · Most recent investor conference presentations · Quarterly earnings news releases · Replays of most recent earnings release conference calls · Calendar of events (includes upcoming earnings conference call dates and times, as well as planned interaction with research analysts and institutional investors) · Corporate Governance Information