MetLife Foundation Announces Results of its 2010 Thanksgiving Charitable Program

Foundation donating $500,000 to selected charities; Thanks Jets fans, Giants fans, and the general public for their participation

NEW YORK, Nov. 29, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- MetLife Foundation today announced the results of its first ever Thanksgiving charitable program.  Fans of the New York Jets and New York Giants, voting at the New Meadowlands Stadium, and members of the general public, voting online at www.MetLife.com/thanksgiving helped to determine how a special half-million dollar donation will be shared among four charities.

The organizations who will be sharing in this year's special contribution include:

• Alzheimer's Association
• Food Bank For New York City
• Jumpstart for Young Children  
• KaBOOM!

Based on the public's input, the Alzheimer's Association will receive $175,000 from MetLife Foundation; Jumpstart for Young Children will receive $125,000, and Food Bank For New York City and KaBOOM! will each receive $100,000.

"MetLife Foundation is thrilled that so many people took the time to come to the website and select their preference, and to encourage their friends to participate as well, with a total of over 30,000 votes cast," said Dennis White, president & CEO of MetLife Foundation. "We hope that through this program, we've helped to raise awareness of these terrific organizations and the important work they do."

As part of its giving back at Thanksgiving, MetLife donated its skybox suite at MetLife Central to New York City's YMCA on Thanksgiving Day.  According to Beth Hirschhorn, SVP and CMO for MetLife, "We enjoyed having these special guests share the holiday with MetLife, and appreciate that thousands of Jets and Giants fans took a few minutes on game day to vote. Thanksgiving weekend was not just a winning one for our home teams but for the charities our Foundation supports."

About MetLife Foundation

MetLife Foundation was created in 1976 by MetLife to continue its longstanding tradition of contributions and community involvement.  The goal is to empower people to lead healthy, productive lives and strengthen communities.  Underlying the Foundation's programs is a focus on education at all ages and a commitment to increasing access and opportunity. The Foundation makes grants in health, education, civic affairs and culture.  More information can be found at www.metlife.org.

SOURCE MetLife Foundation