PHILADELPHIA and BLOOMFIELD, Conn., Jan. 14, 2007 /PRNewswire/ --
CIGNA, a leader in health and related benefits, has donated $1 million to
help build a lasting memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Washington,
D.C. The announcement will be made tomorrow on Martin Luther King Day by
Harry E. Johnson, Sr., president of the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King
Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc.
"Sponsorship of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is a fitting
tribute to a passionate civil rights advocate who was larger than life,"
said CIGNA Chairman and CEO H. Edward Hanway. "Martin Luther King inspired
and challenged us to overcome adversity and make a positive difference in
our community and our country. Through this memorial, Martin Luther King,
Jr.'s message will ring true for generations to come," Hanway said.
As the only health care company to date to sponsor the memorial at the
million-dollar level, CIGNA encouraged its colleagues in business and
industry to follow its lead.
The permanent memorial on the National Mall will be positioned between
the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials and will symbolize for all Americans
the unbroken link between the Jeffersonian ideals on which America was
founded, the protection and salvation of those ideals by President Lincoln,
and the struggle by Dr. King to fulfill those ideals.
About the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial
Project Foundation, Inc.
A memorial honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be built on the
National Mall in Washington, D.C. The Memorial will be situated adjacent to
the F.D.R. Memorial and in a direct line between the Lincoln and Jefferson
Memorials. Congress passed Joint Resolutions in 1996 authorizing Alpha Phi
Alpha Fraternity, Inc. to establish a memorial honoring Dr. King to be
built in Washington, D.C. The Ceremonial Groundbreaking took place on
November 13, 2006 and the Memorial is scheduled to be completed in 2008.
Website: http://www.buildthedream.org.
For more information about the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr.
National Memorial Project, visit http://www.buildthedream.org.
About CIGNA
As a Business of Caring, CIGNA (NYSE: CI) provides employers with
benefits, expertise and services that improve the health, well-being and
productivity of their employees. With approximately 47 million covered
lives in the United States and around the world, CIGNA's operating
subsidiaries offer a full portfolio of medical, dental, behavioral health,
pharmacy and vision care benefits and group life, accident and disability
insurance.
CIGNA expresses its commitment to improving the health of individuals
and families and enhancing the well-being of local communities through a
charitable giving and civic involvement program. The program stresses
support for non-profit organizations working in key areas of health-related
concerns and encouragement of employee volunteer activities. To learn more
about CIGNA's giving go to
http://www.cigna.com/about_us/community/index.html.
SOURCE CIGNA
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Related links:
http://www.cigna.com/about_us/community/index.html
http://www.buildthedream.org
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/141893.html /
CONTACT:
Rica Rodman Orszag, of the Washington, D.C.
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation,
Inc., +1-202-253-8974, rorszag@mlkmemorial.org; or Gloria Barone
of CIGNA, +1-215-761-4758, gloria.barone@cigna.com
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