CVS/pharmacy Convenes National Disability Experts to Form All Kids Can(TM) Advisory Council

WOONSOCKET, R.I., Jan. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CVS/pharmacy, the nation's largest retail pharmacy, and the CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust today announced the formation of the CVS All Kids Can(TM) Advisory Council, a body of national educators and disability experts to help guide CVS's signature program, CVS All Kids Can. The program is a five-year, $25 million commitment to supporting children with disabilities.

"When we officially launched CVS All Kids Can, we wanted to assure that our efforts remained current with trends for successful programs serving children with disabilities and that we continued to serve them and their families in the most effective way possible," said Eileen Howard Dunn, Vice President of Corporate Communications and Community Relations for CVS/pharmacy. "The newly formed CVS All Kids Can Advisory Council includes a wide array of professionals who support children with disabilities and their families through education, health care and communication. Their advice will be instructive as we continue to shape and grow All Kids Can and help kids with disabilities be the best that they can be."

Drawing from their broad experience in the education and disability fields, the CVS All Kids Can Advisory Council members will lend expert advice, evaluate new program opportunities and connect with other advocates of children with disabilities to work with and support CVS All Kids Can. The Advisory Council includes the following experts in the field:

- Katherine Beh Neas, Director, Congressional Affairs, Easter Seals - Esther Canty-Barnes, Clinical Professor and Director, Special Education Clinic at Rutgers School of Law - Dr. Stephen Haley, Senior Scientist, Health and Disability Institute at Boston University - Dr. William Henderson, Jr., Principal, Patrick O'Hearn Elementary School - John M. Kelly, President and Chief Executive Officer, Meeting Street - Dr. Rick Rader, Editor-in-Chief, Exceptional Parent Magazine - Dr. James Rimmer, Director, National Center on Physical Activity and Disability and Professor, Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago - Jean Schappet, Co-Founder, The National Center for Boundless Playgrounds

The goals of CVS All Kids Can are to raise awareness in schools and in local communities about the importance of inclusion, build barrier-free playgrounds so children of all abilities can play side-by-side, and provide medical rehabilitation and related services to children with disabilities. CVS/pharmacy and its more than 170,000 employees plan to help children with disabilities learn, play and succeed through partnerships with leading local and national nonprofit organizations including Easter Seals, The National Center for Boundless Playgrounds, Meeting Street, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and many others.

By supporting children with disabilities, CVS extends its corporate vision of helping people to live longer, healthier, happier lives.

"CVS/pharmacy has an extensive history of giving back to the communities in which we live, work and do business by supporting people of all abilities," said Tom Ryan, President and CEO of CVS/pharmacy. "With CVS All Kids Can, we will help children with disabilities to reach their greatest potential by supporting inclusive activities for positive growth and skills development for future success."

The CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust, Inc. is a private foundation managed by CVS Corporation , which operates more than 6,200 retail and specialty pharmacy stores in 43 states and the District of Columbia. With more than 40 years of dynamic growth in the retail pharmacy industry, CVS is committed to being the easiest pharmacy retailer for customers to use. CVS innovatively serves the healthcare needs of all customers through its CVS/pharmacy stores; its online pharmacy, CVS.com; its retail-based health clinic subsidiary, MinuteClinic; and its pharmacy benefit management, mail order and specialty pharmacy subsidiary, PharmaCare. The Trust's mission is to provide funding for health care, education and community involvement initiatives targeting children with disabilities in communities where CVS/pharmacy stores are located. General information about CVS 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.