UnitedHealthcare Donates $40,000 to Provide Scholarships to Blind Students in Arizona
UnitedHealthcare Donates $40,000 to Provide Scholarships to Blind Students in Arizona
PHOENIX (Jan. 19, 2012) – UnitedHealthcare of Arizona has donated $40,000 to School Choice Arizona to provide scholarships to blind students attending Foundation for Blind Children. The scholarships will allow numerous children with disabilities to attend a private school that specializes in his or her disability, or a private school that would normally be outside the reach of a child in special education.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to support the Foundation for Blind Children in its effort to ensure students with disabilities have access to a quality education, which is an important component in helping people live healthier lives,” said Jeri Jones, CEO, UnitedHealthcare of Arizona.
“UnitedHealthcare has given parents of blind children new choices for education. Not only can they choose special schools like Foundation for Blind Children, but other private schools like Brophy College Prep,” said Marc Ashton, CEO, Foundation for Blind Children. “Our kids are smart and can compete with their sighted peers, but only if they have access to the appropriate resources and education.”
UnitedHealthcare’s contribution is one of the first under the relatively new Lexie’s Law, which allows corporations to redirect their tax liability, or a portion of it, to a state approved student tuition organization in exchange for a tax credit. Enacted in 2009, this law is named for Lexie Weck, who has autism and cerebral palsy and relies on scholarships to attend a small private school that best meets her learning needs. There is an annual statewide cap of $5 million, but the cap has never been reached because many Arizona corporations don’t know about the tax credit or understand it.
“It’s a new law and many corporations think it’s too good to be true, but it is true and it is good,” said State Senator Steven Yarbrough. “More than 140 disabled students in Arizona have benefited from this incredible program and so many more could if corporations would do what United Healthcare has done.”
“The process is simple and doesn’t cost companies a dime, yet it does so much for our community. We hope many other organizations will follow the example set by UnitedHealthcare,” added Ashton.
People interested in applying for a scholarship can contact Foundation for Blind Children directly by calling 602-678-5801 or email mashton@seeitourway.org.
About UnitedHealthcare:
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 650,000 physicians and care professionals and 5,000 hospitals nationwide. UnitedHealthcare serves more than 38 million people and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.
About School Choice Arizona:
Our purpose is to implement the Arizona Corporate Scholarship Tax Credit in the hope of helping parents afford the school of their choice. A School Tuition Organization cannot award, restrict, or reserve scholarships solely on the basis of donor recommendation. A taxpayer may not claim a tax credit if the taxpayer agrees to swap donations with another taxpayer to benefit either taxpayer's own dependent.
