HARTFORD, Conn., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continuing a tradition of supporting and recognizing the efforts of local nonprofit organizations, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has donated a total of $12,500 among ten different non-profit organizations in the Syracuse area in a ceremony today at the company's Syracuse offices.
Onondaga County Executive Nicholas J. Pirro and New York State Assemblywoman Joan Christiansen attended the ceremony and praised The Hartford for its good corporate citizenship.
Said County Executive Pirro, "We are proud of the dedicated employees at The Hartford in Syracuse who are outstanding corporate citizens and committed to helping others. The Hartford's Annual Gift Giving Program demonstrates that commitment and supports the important services provided by numerous organizations throughout our community that make a real difference in the quality of life for all our citizens."
In presenting the grants to the ten nonprofit groups, John Robinson, a long-term disability director with The Hartford said, "We feel strongly about helping make Syracuse a better place to live and work. At The Hartford we are continuing our tradition of supporting local organizations that have made a significant impact in our community."
The Hartford has a vested interest in the Syracuse community, employing 800 members in the area's field offices. This marks the ninth year The Hartford has been conducting this program. The company selected the following organizations to receive this year's grants: Contact Community Services, Inc., Freedom Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc., Multiple Sclerosis Resources of Central New York, Inc., the North Area Family YMCA, Positively Pink Packages, Samaritan Center, Sarah House, Syracuse Children's Theatre, Vera House and Welcome Hall Rescue Mission. The organizations are selected from nominations by The Hartford employees.
Contact Community Services, Inc. provides telephone counseling, youth development, staff training, and systems change leadership services that help individuals and organizations create positive change to improve the quality of lives in central New York. Contact's services, which annually benefit about 25,000 people of all ages, include its 24-hour hotline, after-school programs, Teen Talk call-in radio show, and Bridges Out of Poverty Initiative.
Freedom Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc. breeds, raises, trains and places guide dogs throughout the North East, with people who are visually impaired. With their "Hometown Training" program Freedom Guide Dogs bring the trained dog to a person's home, where they train the "team" from their home addressing their individual mobility needs. The guide dog and the instruction are given free of charge to the blind recipient.
Multiple Sclerosis Resources of Central New York, Inc., is a local non-profit that is dedicated to creating awareness and providing resources to improve the lives of individuals with MS and their families. The agency provides services and education to those persons affected by MS. Multiple Sclerosis Resources currently has over 1,000 clients in the Central New York area.
The North Area Family YMCA is a branch of the YMCA of Greater Syracuse, which has been a part of the community for 148 years. It currently serves 10,000 members with the entire association serving 30,000 people of every age, race, faith and economic background in the Greater Syracuse area. No person is ever turned away because of their inability to pay -- financial assistance is available. In 2005, the North Area Family YMCA provided $714,000 in subsidies to families and children, so that they could participate in child care, summer camp, arts programming, tutoring, special needs assistance as well as YMCA membership.
Positively Pink Packages is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the physical, emotional and educational needs of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients in Central New York. Positively Pink Packages provides care packages to these patients without charge. The care packages are specific to the type of treatment a patient has received, and contain videos/DVD's, books, guided imagery CD's, writing journals, comfort pillows, chemotherapy head turbans, herbal tea and much more. Positively Pink Packages provides the care packages to all surgical groups, hospitals, and oncologists in Central New York, free of charge to distribute to their patients.
The Samaritan Center is an interfaith program that feeds the homeless and needy men, women and children of Syracuse. It is rooted in the belief that sound nutrition is the first step in enabling people to cope and become productive self-sufficient members of society. It operates every day of the year and provides a hot meal to an average of 150 guests per day. Meals are provided at no charge and without judgment or conditions attached.
Sarah House provides lodging in a healing environment primarily for adult patients, their loved ones and family members seeking medical treatment outside their own community. It is the only residence of its kind in the Syracuse area. Sarah House has served well over 4,000 family members from all states but one in the U.S. and several foreign countries.
Syracuse Children's Theatre, founded in 1999, is dedicated to providing cultural enrichment to the children of Central New York through enjoyable, exciting, and enlightening theatrical experiences including educational programs in acting, music, and dance, as well as highly acclaimed children's theatrical productions. It is the goal of Syracuse Children's Theatre to offer classes to children of all races and creeds, and especially encourages and seeks out those with special needs, and those who may be economically or culturally deprived to participate in programs offered.
Vera House works to end domestic violence and sexual assault in the community through various programs and services. The agency provides a 24-hour crisis, support and information line, and emergency shelter to ensure that women and children are safe from violence. Actively engaged in education and training in the community, Vera House offers counseling and advocacy services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault as well as youth education programs.
For over twelve years, the Welcome Hall Community Center's mission has been to serve less fortunate men, women, and children from the Rome area. The center serves over 25,000 meals annually and provide comprehensive programming such as parenting classes, K-12 grade tutoring, GED tutoring, literacy, cooking and budgeting classes, computer training, employment training, early childhood development, chapel and spiritual development among others, all free to the people they serve. Welcome Hall's programs are designed for success by addressing each individual and family as unique and holding everyone accountable for their goals and objectives.
The Hartford, a Fortune 100 company, is one of the nation's largest financial services and insurance companies, with 2005 revenues of $27.1 billion. The Hartford is a leading provider of investment products, life insurance and group benefits; automobile and homeowners products; and business property and casualty insurance. International operations are located in Japan, Brazil and the United Kingdom. The Hartford's Internet address is http://www.thehartford.com/.
Some of the statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution investors that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially. Investors should consider the important risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ. These important risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, those discussed in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our 2005 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update this release, which speaks as of the date issued.
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