Aetna Honored for Dedication to Community Service
Award presented by Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network

(Washington, DC – August 10, 2005) – Aetna, Inc., a health and related benefits company based in Hartford, Conn., received the Award for Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs (AEWVP) in recognition of the company's outstanding commitment to engaging employees in community service.

The award was presented on Friday, August 5 at the Washington Convention Center during the National Conference on Volunteering and Service. David Lauren, senior vice president of advertising, marketing and corporate communications, Polo Ralph Lauren, was the keynote speaker at the awards luncheon.

The Awards for Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs is an international award that honors businesses of all sizes and from all industries that have made a commitment to effectively engaging employees in volunteering. The Points of Light Foundation, the nation's leading volunteer resource, views companies as one of the primary sources of volunteers and provides a full range of services to help businesses develop and sustain workplace volunteer programs.

Aetna's employee volunteering and giving program, Aetna Employees Reaching Out (AERO), integrates community involvement and business. When employees get involved in communities to teach underprivileged children dental hygiene, serve on hospital governance boards or conduct other caring acts, they help Aetna to “build trusting, value added relationships” with constituents, to “anticipate the future” in healthcare, and to invigorate other values expressed in The Aetna Way, Aetna's business approach. In sum, AERO helps Aetna stay true to its business approach, The Aetna Way.

“Aetna employees - today or 150 years ago - have always considered 'giving back' part of doing business,” said Aetna's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,   Dr. John W. Rowe. “We take community involvement seriously and consider our employee volunteering and giving program, Aetna Employees Reaching Out, an integral part of our success. Whether employees read to pediatric patients, participate in blood drives or teach children to read, it helps Aetna stay informed about healthcare issues, build relationships with key partners and maintain a positive work environment.  Receiving the 2005 Award for Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs from the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network motivates us to continue Aetna's historic commitment to volunteerism.”

“Workplace volunteering can have a profound impact on employees, communities and the long-term success of a company,” says Robert K. Goodwin, president & CEO of the Points of Light Foundation. “Aetna is a shining example of the role that businesses can play in alleviating social problems and bringing about healthier communities.”

Aetna was selected by a panel of distinguished judges from major business and nonprofit groups, who based their decisions on how well Aetna's overall workplace-based

volunteer program reflects the Principles of Excellence for Workplace Volunteering, a plan to ACT:

• Acknowledge that effective volunteer programs contribute to a company's ability to achieve its business goals;
• Commit to establishing and supporting a program that involves all employees and treats volunteering like any other key business requirement; and
• Target volunteering to address serious social problems within their communities.

“Aetna is a role model for other members of the business community to make volunteering an integral part of their workplace culture,” Goodwin adds.

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The Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network, a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization, supports and organizes the vital work of community volunteers who help solve our nation's most serious social problems by bringing people and resources together. The Foundation builds knowledge, skills and programs for volunteer leaders and volunteers to succeed, and provides leadership to mobilize volunteers in thousands of local communities across the country. For more information, call 202-729-8000 or visit www.pointsoflight.org.