April 19, 2007

Weller Health Education Center, Allentown School District to Host Community Health and Wellness Nights

ALLENTOWN, PA, April 19, 2007– The Weller Health Education Center and the Allentown School District will host two free Community Health and Wellness Nights at Roosevelt Elementary School on April 26, 2007 and Mosser Elementary School on May 10, 2007. The programming is made possible through a $30,000 Aetna Foundation grant awarded to the Weller Health Education Center in support of the Center’s Food and Fitness for Life program.

“Our partnership with Aetna is helping us reach thousands of students with potentially life-saving information on how to make smart and healthy life choices,” said Melissa Lee, President and CEO of the Weller Health Education Center. “This initiative is designed to help reduce rates of childhood obesity in Allentown by facilitating obesity education between physicians and families at risk, enhancing parents’ access to information on childhood obesity prevention and educating children on healthy eating and exercise.”

The Community Health and Wellness Nights will feature educational sessions and assistance concerning nutrition, meal planning and portion control offered by the Allentown Health Bureau, Cedar Crest College and Sacred Heart Hospital. The Center will also present “Unraveling the BMI Mystery” which will assist parents in interpreting BMI data and dealing with children’s weight issues. The William Allen High School hip-hop and step dance teams will lead fun fitness routines.

The grant also supported the delivery of the Center’s unique preventive health education programs, Kids in Motion and Food and Fitness for Life to more than 2,700 second and fourth grade students in the Allentown School District.

“Aetna is committed to improving the quality of life in the communities where we live and work. Promoting healthy lifestyles and responsible dietary habits beginning in childhood will avoid many of the chronic health conditions that don’t appear until later in life,” said Don Liss, MD, Aetna’s Regional Medical Director. “It is gratifying to support such a progressive effort.”

The Aetna Foundation grant awarded to the Weller Health Education Center was one of seven grants totaling $220,000 given to organizations located in Eastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey.

Representatives from the media are invited and encouraged to attend a Community Night

# # #

About the Aetna Foundation

The Aetna Foundation is the independent charitable and philanthropic arm of Aetna Inc.  Founded in 1972, the Foundation helps build healthy communities by promoting volunteerism, forming partnerships and funding initiatives that improve the quality of life where our employees and customers live and work.

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 35.9 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities. Customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans and government-sponsored plans. www.aetna.com

About The Weller Health Education Center

The Weller Health Education Center measurably improves children's lives by giving students the tools and resources they need to make informed and healthy life choices. Each year, the Weller Center partners with more than 500 schools in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to supplement and enhance the teaching of health, character education and life science for students grades K through 12 through both onsite and outreach programming delivered by specially trained health educators who hold master's degrees in public health, health education or related fields. The first not-for-profit health promotion, disease prevention education facility of its kind in Pennsylvania, the Weller Center has served more than 1.3 million children since its inception in 1982, and remains the only such center in its 39-county service area and one of just 34 health education centers in the nation. www.wellercenter.org.