WELLESLEY, Mass., Sept. 20,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sun Life has named six community
organizations as recipients of its 2022 Team Up Against Diabetes
grants. Sun Life annually awards grants to organizations around the
country that help improve people's health and serve those living
with or at-risk for diabetes. Programs provide health and wellness
services for diabetes prevention, awareness, education, management,
and care to underserved and under-resourced communities most
vulnerable to diabetes. As part of Sun Life's broader focus on
improving access to health services for communities that need it
most, these grants have helped educate people about the impact of
diabetes and the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
"We are committed to helping more people in underserved
communities access the services and tools that can help them live
healthier lives," said Dan Fishbein,
M.D., president, Sun Life U.S. "Sun Life proudly offers the Team Up
Against Diabetes grant program each year to help these local
organizations be health heroes in their communities. They truly
make a difference for those living with or at-risk for
diabetes."
The 2022 recipients of the Sun Life Team Up Against Diabetes
grant program are:
AdventHealth Foundation Central Florida, AdventHealth for
Children's Healthy Weight & Wellness Program, Orlando, Fla.
AdventHealth's Healthy
Weight and Wellness program is a comprehensive health and wellness
program that provides children and families with proven tools to
live a healthy, active life by combining family education and
support with professional medical services to combat obesity. Sun
Life's grant will help serve over 100 low-income children and teens
and their families, supporting programming in nutrition, health
coaching and physical activities.
Charitable Pharmacy of Central
Ohio, Farmacy in the City: Diabetes Defense,
Columbus, Ohio
The
Charitable Pharmacy of Central
Ohio provides affordable and appropriate pharmacy services
to underserved communities, as well as access to healthcare,
nutritious food, affordable medicine, and health education. The
goal of the newly established Sun Life Farmacy in the City
program is to assist people in managing their diabetes and
improving their overall health. Patients receive prescriptions for
fresh food, cooking and meal planning guidance, and diabetes
supplies. Sun Life's grant will help fund testing supplies, disease
self-monitoring equipment, educational materials and staff support
for more than 700 patients, as well as broaden access to nutritious
foods in areas where residents don't have full-service grocery
stores.
Progreso Latino, Salud,
Salsa and Sabor, Central Falls,
R.I.
Progreso Latino
is the only Latino-led, bilingual organization in Rhode Island offering diabetes programming.
The Salud, Salsa and Sabor program aims to address issues of health
equity by combining traditional diabetes prevention programming
with food access and physical activities. The program is offered
bilingually, in a virtual/hybrid format, with the goal of
instilling behavioral changes and promoting weight loss to prevent
or manage diabetes. Sun Life's grant will support one-on-one
coaching, community and medical referrals, weekly workshops and
nutrition classes.
The Sportsmen's Tennis & Enrichment Center, Cooking
& Culture, Dorchester,
Mass.
The Cooking & Culture program offers
nutrition education for elementary school students, seeking to
foster nutritional knowledge, diabetes prevention, and empowerment
in vulnerable children. Sun Life's grant will support expenses,
program materials, weekly farm share fruits and vegetables for all
participants, and field trips. Supporting the Blue Hill Corridor of
Boston, Sportsmen's Center works
with some of the most underserved communities in Boston, of which 94 percent identify as
persons of color, and 88 percent of households speak a language
other than English. The program aims to address issues of health
disparity in Greater Boston.
Sugga Mama's Diabetes Prevention & Management,
Diabetes/Prediabetes Boot Camp, Philadelphia
Sugga Mama's supports
underserved and vulnerable women and families living with diabetes
and prediabetes. Sun Life's grant will support virtual sessions of
The Boot Camp Experience, which serves communities where less than
50 percent of the population has received any formal diabetes
education. The program offers interactive workshops consisting of
low impact cardio workouts, educational sessions, goal setting and
healthy coping.
University of Michigan School of
Social Work, Michigan Men's Health Education Project,
Ann Arbor,
Mich.
University of
Michigan's Men's Health Education Project aims to reach
Black men in the Detroit area to
help them better manage their type 2 diabetes. Tailored from an
existing peer program, the Project works with male barbers as peer
leader health advocates, targeting diabetes-related lifestyle and
self-management behaviors. Sun Life's grant will support staffing,
participant incentives, and equipment, including health monitoring
devices.
Grant recipients are chosen each year by a panel of experts from
Sun Life and business partners. The panel reviews the applications
and determines the organizations that have demonstrated innovative
approaches to diabetes support, education, and broadening access to
nutrition and health services. This year's panel included:
- John Adams, lead product
manager, Sun Life
- Irlande Audenier, vice president, Group and Voluntary Claims,
Sun Life
- Angel Bennett, long-term
disability case manager, Sun Life
- Kim Coutinho, director,
Distribution Learning & Development, Sun Life
- Amy Deschaines, vice president,
account executive, Lockton Companies
- Dr. Tracy Hamill, assistant vice
president, medical director, Sun Life
- Ann-Marie Hejna, manager,
Business Development, ComPsych
- Tammi Hendrick, senior executive
administrative assistant, Sun Life
- Gina Hill, quality development
analyst, Sun Life
- Latoya Keatts, long-term
disability claims case manager, Sun Life
- Peter Kilmartin, senior vice
president, Aon
- Glenna Lasater, vice president
of Human Resources, MGIS Companies
- Andre Lockett, broker services
licensing specialist, Sun Life
Since the Team Up Against Diabetes grant program began in 2016,
Sun Life U.S. has given more than $32
million to diabetes and health programs. Sun Life also
partners with the American Diabetes Association in support of the
Project Power program, the Boston Celtics in support of the YMCA of
Greater Boston's diabetes
education and fitness programs, and the Kansas City Royals in
support of diabetes programs in Kansas
City.
About Sun Life
Sun Life is a leading international
financial services organization providing asset management, wealth,
insurance and health solutions to individual and institutional
Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide,
including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong
Kong, the Philippines,
Japan, Indonesia, India, China,
Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of June 30,
2022, Sun Life had total assets under management of
C$1.26 trillion. For more
information, please visit www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New
York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the
ticker symbol SLF.
In the United States, Sun Life
is one of the largest group benefits providers, serving more than
55,000 employers in small, medium and large workplaces across the
country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of insurance products and
services in the U.S. includes disability, absence management, life,
dental, vision, voluntary and medical stop-loss. Sun Life and its
affiliates in asset management businesses in the U.S. employ
approximately 8,000 people. Group insurance policies are issued by
Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Wellesley
Hills, Mass.), except in New
York, where policies are issued by Sun Life and Health
Insurance Company (U.S.) (Lansing,
Mich.). For more information, please visit
www.sunlife.com/us.
Media contacts:
Devon
Fernald
Sun Life U.S.
781-800-3609
Devon.Portney.Fernald@sunlife.com
Connect with Sun Life
U.S.
https://www.facebook.com/SLFUnitedStates
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sun-life-financial
https://twitter.com/SunLifeUS
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SOURCE Sun Life U.S.