PICAYUNE, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation’s Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM program is awarding a grant of $152,763 to Manna Ministries Inc. to support its Heart 2 Heart Initiative which works to improve cardiovascular health in the community. This is the second consecutive year in which Manna Ministries has received a grant from the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation, totaling $305,526.
Heart 2 Heart serves uninsured and underinsured populations in southern Mississippi and Louisiana. The program aims to raise cardiovascular disease awareness, while improving the quality of care and patient education through community outreach and the delivery of screening, patient education, treatment and heart-healthy lifestyle support and education.
“We see firsthand every day the toll that heart disease is taking on our communities of our state and the Heart 2 Heart Initiative demonstrated positive results in our first year of the program. We are providing quality care in a comprehensive program with proven results, and will have a long-term impact on our state,” said Jameye Martin, executive director, Manna Ministries. “We are grateful to the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation for making this program possible.”
As a result of previous funding from the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation, roughly half of 142 program participants lowered their triglycerides by an average of 40 points. Nearly 80 percent of a group of more than 40 participants with blood pressure higher than 140/90 decreased their blood pressure by the end of the program. In addition, upon beginning the program, only 20 percent of a group of more than 50 participants reported that they were trying to improve their diet, and by the end of the program, 89 percent reported that they were trying to improve their diet.
“By starting at the local level, we can work to reduce the impact of heart disease across the country,” said Rich Buckley, president of the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation. “The AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation supports Manna Ministries’ efforts to improve cardiovascular health in its community, one person at a time.”
The Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM program annually awards grants to U.S.-based nonprofit organizations across the country. More than $2.6 million in grants to 13 organizations will be announced this year. More than $17 million in grants have been awarded through the program since its inception in 2010. In 2015, the Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM program will award grants from $150,000 to $180,000.
Organizations can learn more and apply online for a Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM grant at www.astrazeneca-us.com/foundation. Applications must be submitted online no later than 5 p.m. EST on Feb. 26, 2015.
About Manna Ministries Inc.
Since its founding in 1999, Manna Ministries has provided more than $4 million in services and assistance to impoverished families in the community in and around the city of Picayune. Its clinic provides the uninsured with general primary care, diagnostic laboratory services, and urgent medical care. In addition, the clinic helps patients with enrollment paperwork for programs that enable patients to receive free or reduced rate prescription medications. Manna Ministries also provides food and clothing to approximately 600 families every week. Learn more at www.mannaministry.net or call 601-916-8191.
About AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation
Established in 1993, the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation is a Delaware not-for-profit corporation and a 501(c)(3) entity organized for charitable purposes, including to promote public awareness of healthcare issues, to promote public education of medical knowledge and to support or contribute to charitable and qualified exempt organizations consistent with its charitable purpose. Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM was launched in 2010 through a charitable contribution of $25 million from AstraZeneca.
