Let’s Get Dental Care Back on the Road for Disadvantaged Children in California

• Cigna Foundation, Healthy Smiles Foundation set up crowdfunding site
• $150,000 needed to repair Healthy Smiles mobile clinic for school year
• Cigna Foundation to match funds up to $75,000
• Only 1 in 5 children in Central Valley, Calif. receive dental care
• Donate through Healthy
  Smiles crowdrise fundraising website

BLOOMFIELD, Conn. & FRESNO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Cigna Foundation and the Healthy Smiles Foundation hope to get a
broken mobile clinic back on the road in time for the upcoming school
year in Central Valley, California, where only one in five children
receive dental care. Today, to meet their goal, they launched a crowdfunding
website on crowdrise to raise money from individual donors
and donor teams on the internet.

Over the past 22 years, the Healthy Smiles Mobile Dental Foundation has
provided ongoing oral health care to approximately 50,000 underserved
children at school sites. But with one of their mobile clinics out of
operation, Healthy Smiles feared it would have to put the brakes on
delivering dental care to parts of Central Valley this fall.

“Healthy Smiles asks your help to raise these funds over the next few
months so that we can repair the mobile clinic for the upcoming school
year. We’re honored to have the Cigna Foundation provide a challenge
grant, dollar-for-dollar match of up to $75,000, in support of our
fundraising efforts. Together, we can help thousands of students in need
receive preventive and restorative dental care,” said Dr. Michael
Alijani, chief dental director, Healthy Smiles Mobile Dental Foundation.

In Central Valley, tooth decay is the number one chronic illness in
children, five times more common than asthma and seven times more
prevalent than allergies. Left untreated, tooth decay can affect eating,
speech, learning, self-esteem and overall health and quality of life.
Regular checkups are important, as tooth decay is preventable.

“When we heard that the Healthy Smiles mobile clinic was no longer able
to serve children in California, we asked how we could help,” said David
Figliuzzi, executive director of the Cigna Foundation. “This
crowdfunding campaign is an example of the organization’s innovative
thinking to raise critical funds. We’re excited to partner in helping to
meet the $150,000 goal.”

The Cigna Foundation is a proud supporter of the Healthy Smiles Mobile
Dental Foundation through its World of Difference grant program, and
last year provided a $103,000 grant to help provide ongoing oral health
services to more than 2,500 underserved children in Fresno, Kings,
Madera and Merced Counties in California.

To help repair the Healthy Smiles mobile clinic and bring dental care to
California children this fall, donate through the Healthy
Smiles crowdrise website. Follow the success of the crowdfunding
project at #SupportHealthySmiles on Twitter and Facebook, and click
to learn more about Healthy Smiles.

About the Cigna Foundation

The Cigna Foundation, founded in 1962, is a private foundation funded by
contributions from Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) 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.

About Cigna

Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) is a global health service company
dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and sense
of security. All products and services are provided exclusively by or
through operating subsidiaries of Cigna Corporation, including
Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, Cigna Health and Life
Insurance Company, Life Insurance Company of North America and Cigna
Life Insurance Company of New York. Such products and services include
an integrated suite of health services, such as medical, dental,
behavioral health, pharmacy, vision, supplemental benefits, and other
related products including group life, accident and disability
insurance. Cigna maintains sales capability in 30 countries and
jurisdictions, and has more than 90 million customer relationships
throughout the world. To learn more about Cigna®, including links to
follow us on Facebook or Twitter, visit www.cigna.com.

Contacts

Cigna Foundation
Gloria Barone, 215-761-4758
Gloria.barone@cigna.com