CVS Caremark Charitable Trust Awards $5.5 Million to Nonprofit Organizations Through its Annual Grants Program

WOONSOCKET, R.I., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, the private foundation created by CVS Caremark Corporation, announced today that it has awarded approximately $5.5 million in grant funds to nonprofit organizations across the U.S. through its annual grants program.

The 2007 grant recipients were chosen through the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust's annual grant application process. A total of 39 grants went to nonprofit organizations across 14 states and Washington, D.C. in late December supporting a wide range of programs, including those focusing on ways to improve the lives of children with disabilities and their families, and promote awareness and inclusion of children with disabilities. These donations align with CVS Caremark All Kids Can and this signature program's goal of making life easier for children with disabilities and their families. Launched in 2006, CVS Caremark All Kids Can committed $25 million, as well as countless employee volunteer hours, over five years to support this important cause.

"Given the right resources and support, every child, regardless of ability, can achieve his or her full potential," said Eileen Howard Dunn, Vice President, CVS Caremark Charitable Trust. "That's why CVS Caremark Charitable Trust is committed to supporting nonprofit organizations that provide innovative programs and services focused on helping children with disabilities and their families."

For the past seven years, the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust has invited nonprofit organizations to apply for grants. Since 2001, the Trust has awarded grants totaling more than $21.5 million to more than 325 organizations. During that time, the Trust has also provided more than $4.5 million in grants to support pharmacy schools and pharmacy scholarships around the country. In addition, it provides ongoing support to the CVS Caremark Scholarship Program for children of CVS Caremark associates and to the CVS Caremark Volunteer Challenge Grant Program, which donates funds to community organizations for which CVS Caremark associates volunteer.

Among other organizations and programs, funding from the 2007 CVS Caremark Charitable Trust grants went to Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital (Providence, RI) "Sensory, Speech and Occupational Therapy Clinic" for children with sensory, speech, and other disorders that impact their ability to function and communicate; to the Center for the Partially Sighted (Los Angeles, CA) "Pediatric Low Vision" program to provide affordable optometric low vision rehabilitation to visually impaired children; and to Cook Children's Medical Center (Fort Worth, TX) "First Sounds, First Words" program to meet the challenges in the areas of awareness, education, and advocacy faced by the parents of children with hearing loss who have chosen the spoken language option for their children.

"This tremendous gift from CVS Caremark will make a difference in the lives of many of our patients and their families," said Daniel J. Wall, President and CEO of Bradley Hospital. "Having the support of a community partner like CVS Caremark is critical as we continue to advance and advocate for children's mental health, and we're grateful for their commitment and generosity."

"This support will help children get devices they need to improve social, motor, language and neurological development, and guide the family to improve parental bonding and communication with teachers and other therapists," said Dr. LaDonna Ringering, Executive Director of The Center for the Partially Sighted.

"The significant contribution made by the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust is crucial to the success of the First Sounds, First Words program, which enables children access to services that are key to their successful integration into the hearing community," said Nancy Cychol, President of Cook Children's Medical Center. "We believe this grant will give us the opportunity to thoroughly educate parents and professionals while at the same time enhancing the lives of these children."

Following is a complete list of organizations receiving CVS Caremark Charitable Trust grants for 2007:

Arizona Phoenix Children's Hospital (http://www.phoenixchildrens.com/) Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (http://www.autismcenter.org/) California The Center for the Partially Sighted (http://www.low-vision.org/) Family Support Network (http://www.familysupportnetworkca.com/) Pediatric Therapy Network (http://www.pediatrictherapynetwork.org/) Connecticut The Connecticut Institute for the Blind-Oak Hill (http://www.ciboakhill.org/) Trinity College (http://www.trincoll.edu/) Florida Boggy Creek Gang (a Hole in the Wall Gang Camp) (http://www.boggycreek.org/) Clarke School for the Deaf (http://www.clarkeschool.org/) Georgia The Frazer Center (http://www.thefrazercenter.org/) Illinois Children's Memorial Hospital (http://www.childrensmemorial.org/) Snow City Arts Foundation (http://www.snowcityarts.com/) Massachusetts Boston Medical Center (http://www.bmc.org/) Inner City Scholarship Fund (http://www.csfboston.org/) Kennedy-Donovan Center (http://www.kdc.org/) King Solomon Humanitarian Foundation for Handicapped Children (http://www.handikids.org/) Massachusetts General Hospital (http://www.massgeneral.org/) Professional Center for Handicapped Children (http://www.theprofessionalcenter.org/) Maryland Autism Society of America (http://www.autism-society.org/) Foundation for the National Institute of Health (http://www.fnih.org/) New York Helen Keller Services for the Blind (http://www.helenkeller.org/) ICD - International Center for the Disabled (http://www.icdnyc.org/) National Dance Institute (http://www.nationaldance.org/) New York Foundling Hospital Center for Pediatric Medical and Rehab - (http://www.setonpediatric.org/) Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children (http://www.spence-chapin.org/) Ohio Spina Bifida Association of Cincinnati (http://www.sbacincy.org/) United Cerebral Palsy Association of Greater Cleveland (http://www.ucpcleveland.org/) Pennsylvania Heart of Variety Fund (http://www.varietyphila.org/) Rhode Island Big Picture Company (http://www.bigpicture.org/) Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital (http://www.lifespan.org/bradley) Matthew Siravo Memorial Foundation (http://www.mattyfund.org/) Rhode Island Quality Institute (http://www.riqi.org/) St. Joseph Health Services of RI (http://www.saintjosephri.com/) United Cerebral Palsy of Rhode Island (http://www.ucpri.org/) Tennessee United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee (http://www.ucpnashville.org/) Texas Cook Children's Medical Center (http://www.cookchildrens.org/) Hearing School of the Southwest (http://www.hearingschoolsw.com/) Texas Scottish Rite for Crippled Children (http://www.tsrhc.org/) Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation (http://www.buildthedream.org/)

The CVS Caremark Charitable Trust will be accepting applications for 2008 grants from May 1 to June 15, 2008. For additional information, visit http://www.cvs.com/corpInfo/community/charitable_mission.html.

About the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust

The CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, Inc. is a private foundation created by CVS Caremark Corporation . CVS Caremark is the largest provider of prescriptions and related health care services in the nation. The Trust's mission is to provide funding for health care, education and community involvement initiatives in CVS Caremark communities. General information about CVS Caremark is available through the Investor Relations portion of the Company's Web site at http://investor.cvs.com/, or through the Web site's press room at http://www.cvs.com/pressroom.

CONTACT: Sara Steindorf 617-520-7259 ssteindorf@webershandwick.com Carolyn Castel 401-770-5717 ccastel@cvs.com