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Unum Helps Fund Aquarium Program
5/7/2010 9:31:41 AM
Left to right: Tom White – Senior Vice President, Investor Relations, Unum; Charlie Arant – president & CEO, Tennessee Aquarium; Tim Arnold – Vice President, Underwriting, Unum; Bob Best – Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Unum
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Thom Benson 423-785-3007
Unum Helps Aquarium’s “Supporting Deserving Students” Program
Chattanooga, Tenn. (May 7, 2010) – May is a busy time at the Tennessee Aquarium with a large number of school groups enjoying an educational experience surrounded by thousands of the world’s most interesting animals. The Tennessee Aquarium’s education department offers a variety of programs and activities that are aligned with the National Science Education Content Standards as well as state science curriculum standards for Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. “Classroom lessons, Lunch & Learn and Auditorium programs are offered free to school groups with their visit to the Tennessee Aquarium, IMAX 3D Theater or River Gorge Explorer,” said Tim Baker, the Aquarium’s director of education. “These sessions are educational, but they’re also lively and a lot of fun.”
Last year, the Aquarium admitted nearly 17,000 students completely free of charge through the Supporting Deserving Students program. Approximately 2,600 of those students were from Hamilton County public schools. Unum is providing $20,000 in funding to ensure students in Hamilton County needing financial support will once again gain vital environmental education at the Tennessee Aquarium during the upcoming 2010-2011 school year. “This partnership allows us to support two causes that are important to Unum, and that’s education and the environment,” said Bob Best, chief operating officer for Unum. “Our goal is to provide students with many educational opportunities to help them succeed and to make our community stronger. And since this partnership focuses on protecting and improving the environment, we’re doing just that.”
The Supporting Deserving Students program is one piece of the $1.3 million dollars worth of programs and services the Aquarium is able to give back to the community every year. “Community partners like Unum are vital to the Aquarium’s mission,” said Aquarium president and CEO Charlie Arant. “The broad community support given to the Aquarium helps us provide more educational programs and foster future success stories.”
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Did you know?
In 2009, community support helped provide these learning expeditions:
At the Aquarium:
• 90,000 discounted students
• 17,000 students free-of-charge
• 8,000 free chaperones
At IMAX:
• 40,000 discounted students
• 3,000 students free-of-charge
• 5,000 free chaperones
Aboard the River Gorge Explorer:
• 1,500 free students plus chaperones
• 775 discounted students and chaperones
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