Excellus BCBS Community Health Award grant announcement

-Excellus BlueCross BlueShield makes $25,000 in Community 

Health Awards available to nonprofit organizations in CNY

SYRACUSE — As part of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s mission 

to improve the health and health care of the residents of the communities

 it serves, the company makes Community Health Awards adding up to

 a total of $25,000 available to help fund health and wellness programs

 in Central New York.

Nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organizations in Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s 

eight-county CNY region are invited to apply for an award of up to $4,000

 each, which can be used for a program that has clear goals to improve the 

health or health care of a specific population in the community.

“The company’s Community Health Awards demonstrate a corporate

 commitment to support local organizations that share our mission as a 

nonprofit health plan,” said Arthur Vercillo, M.D., regional president, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. “These awards complement our existing grants and sponsorships with agencies that work to enhance quality of life, including

 health status, in Central New York.”

In granting the awards, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield considers organizations 

which offer programs that focus on:

· Activities that improve the health status of the community or that 

reduce the incidence of specific diseases.
· Community-wide health education.
· Group-specific health education.
· Wellness.

To be eligible, the organization must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and located in 

Cayuga, Cortland, Jefferson, Lewis, Onondaga, Oswego, St. Lawrence or 

Tompkins County.

Awards will be made based on:

· Scope of need.
· Goals of program.
· Overall number of persons to benefit from the program.
· Positive impact on the community’s health status.

“In the 75 years that Excellus BlueCross BlueShield has been serving residents

 of upstate New York, the company has supported hundreds of programs that 

are aimed at improving the health status of area residents,” said Vercillo. “We’re pleased to continue that effort by offering Community Health Awards to

 nonprofits in Central New York.”

The deadline for organizations to submit an application to be considered for an Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Community Health Award is June 9, 2014. 

Applications and additional information are available online at http://bit.ly/1gdR71a or by emailing Community.Health.Awards.CNY@excellus.com. Applications received after the June 9 deadline will not be considered. Awards will be distributed in early fall 2014.

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