CIGNA Volunteer Of The Year Hits A Home Run In Community Caring

Main Category: Sports Medicine / Fitness
Article Date: 07 May 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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CIGNA Corporation named Steve Silverman, founder of Challenger Baseball in Cherry Hill, N.J., as the company's 2007 Volunteer of the Year. Silverman, a food services specialist at CIGNA, developed the first non-competitive organized recreational activity for children with special needs and disabilities in his hometown.

"While excellent programs like the Special Olympics exist, they are of a more competitive nature. Challenger Baseball is strictly recreational and inclusive of all disabilities," Silverman said. "As children age, the gap between the special needs child and other children widens, particularly where sports are concerned. For many special needs children, being part of a team activity helps to fulfill a need to be an equal to their peers in the community."

The program began three years ago. Since then, Silverman and a team of dedicated volunteers have widened dugouts to make them available to wheelchairs and added safety bars and wheelchair ramps to restroom facilities at the playing fields. More than 150 children ages 5 to 18 take part in Challenger Baseball.

"CIGNA is proud to recognize Steve, who not only demonstrates the best of the volunteer sprit, but exemplifies our commitment to understanding and appreciating the diversity of all people we serve within our communities. We are grateful to Steve as a volunteer and a CIGNA employee," said H. Edward Hanway, CIGNA's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, who will host a special recognition luncheon for Silverman at CIGNA May 12.

The Points of Light Foundation, founded by former President George H.W. Bush, selected Silverman as CIGNA's Volunteer of the Year. The Foundation's mission is to promote corporate volunteerism and is used as an independent decision-maker to choose CIGNA's Volunteer of the Year.

As CIGNA Volunteer of the Year, Silverman will receive a $2,500 check from CIGNA and a $2,500 grant from the CIGNA Foundation will go directly to Challenger Baseball.

CIGNA's Community Caring

For a quarter century, CIGNA has helped to sustain health and well-being in communities through its Community Caring volunteer recognition awards program. The Community Caring Awards recognize outstanding community service and provide employees with the opportunity to receive a grant for their non-profit volunteer organization through the CIGNA Foundation. A CIGNA volunteer is recognized each month, with one volunteer chosen to receive the CIGNA Volunteer of the Year award. In 2007, CIGNA employees collectively logged 18,000 hours in volunteer time with non-profit organizations through Community Caring and other CIGNA-backed activities.

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. http://www.cigna.com

CIGNA Foundation, Inc. is a private foundation funded by contributions from CIGNA Corporation and its subsidiaries. The CIGNA Foundation supports organizations sharing its commitment to enhancing the health of individuals and families, and the well-being of their communities, with a special focus on those communities where CIGNA employees live and work.

CIGNA Foundation, Inc.