"Aetna this year has significantly expanded its collaboration with 100 Black Men of Atlanta," said Cynthia Follmer, Aetna’s local market president for Georgia. "This is our first such arrangement in the state, and both sides will benefit from a deeper level of engagement. We have worked together to address health issues such as diabetes, asthma and childhood obesity, and the devastating effects they have on Atlanta’s African-American families. We look forward to continuing those efforts and finding new opportunities to make a positive impact in the community."

The funds will be used to support a wide range of programs that address health disparities and promote business networking among people in Atlanta’s African-American community.

The first program under the new relationship was the 100’s Fit for Life Family Fair, sponsored by Aetna earlier this month. The community health fair targeted Atlanta Public School System students and the surrounding community, and shared information about programs such as Vital Savings by Aetna, which is a discount program that provides significant savings on dental, pharmacy, vision and other services.

"We are proud of our long relationship with Aetna," said John T. Grant Jr., executive director and chief operating officer of 100 Black Men of Atlanta Inc. "They are committed to assuring that we understand the implications of health-related issues in communities across our state and nation, and they support our efforts in this critical area."

Aetna also will sponsor a newly created Small Business Forum, designed to provide African-American small business owners with tools and information to improve the "health and the wealth" of their businesses. In addition, Aetna and the 100 again will co-sponsor the Bank of America Football Classic this fall. The Fall Classic weekend will feature an Aetna-sponsored town hall meeting on childhood obesity.

100 Black Men of Atlanta Inc. (100) is a coalition of some of Atlanta’s most influential men organized to empower Atlanta’s challenged communities. Together they channel educational and economic resources toward those communities’ students and future leaders.

The majority of the organization’s community work is performed through its flagship program, Project Success. Through Project Success, the 100 provides educational support, cultural enrichment and scholarships to carefully selected students from Atlanta public schools.

Combining proceeds from some of Atlanta’s best-known fund-raising events, generous donations from its corporate partners, community contributions and the personal resources of the 100’s membership, the 100 operates community-based programs that inspire its students and their families to achieve academic and professional excellence.

Aetna provides and administers health benefits to more than 500,000 people in Georgia.

Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 37.3 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 and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. www.aetna.com