Florida Blue Foundation Recognized as 2019 Outstanding Community Partner at Florida Literacy Awards

Daytona Beach, FL, May 23, 2019 --(PR.com)-- The Florida Blue Foundation received the Outstanding Community Partner Award at the 2019 FloridaLiteracy Conference, which was held on May 1-3rd at the Daytona Beach Plaza Resort. Florida Blue has been a generous supporter and leader in promoting literacy and health literacy since it became the founding sponsor of the Florida Health Literacy Initiative 10 years ago. This statewide program, administered by the Florida Literacy Coalition (FLC), provides training, resources and funding to assist Florida ESOL and family literacy programs to integrate health education into their instruction.

“This award recognizes Florida Blue Foundation’s unwavering commitment to helping Florida’s adult literacy and ESOL students become informed health advocates for themselves and their families,” said Greg Smith, executive director of FLC. “We are excited to recognize the important work of the Florida Blue Foundation in the area of health literacy.”

The Initiative has served more than 18,000 learners and has developed more than 300 new community partnerships. Florida Blue and the Florida Blue Foundation have contributed $1.1 million to this effort, resulting in health literacy grants to 59 local organizations to help them build successful and robust health literacy projects.

“We are certainly changing lives at our school and the support that we have received from Florida Blue Foundation is one of the driving factors behind our accomplishments,” said nominator Kathy Severson, director, DeSoto County Adult Education, “None of what we have been able to achieve would have happened without this amazing opportunity to partner with Florida Blue.”

Susan Towler, vice president, Florida Blue Foundation, agreed that changing lives is the real reward. “We are thrilled to receive the Outstanding Community Partner Award. It is our partnerships with groups such as Florida Literacy Coalition that allow us to make a difference. As a result of the Initiative, students report visiting a doctor, enrolling in health coverage, feeling empowered to talk with their doctor and sharing their newfound health knowledge with their friends and families. That is truly rewarding.”