Aetna Announces Summer Academic Grants; $75,000 Given to Hartford Area Community Organizations.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Aetna (NYSE: AET) today announced that it has awarded funding to 21 Hartford area community organizations under the Aetna Foundation's summer academic enrichment grants program. This is the 31st year Aetna has awarded the grants, which will provide academic and cultural enrichment opportunities for Hartford-area students.

"Aetna is very pleased to continue to help communities by funding initiatives that improve the quality of life where its employees and customers work and live," said Marilda L. Gandara, president of the Aetna Foundation. "For more than 150 years, Aetna has been part of the fabric of the Hartford community. These enrichment programs allow us to make an investment in Hartford's school-age children."

This year, Aetna is providing $75,000 in summer grants. In 2003, Aetna and the Aetna Foundation donated $2.6 million to the metro Hartford area.

"One of the main preventive health programs that Aetna's support helps us maintain is our dental screenings. Each summer local dentists screen each of our campers for dental health. Letters are sent home to parents along with information and resources to help them follow up on what the screenings find. These are tough times to raise funds for local programs so Aetna's support to Camp Courant means a lot and we are very grateful," said Beth Gibbs, executive director of Camp Courant.

The Hartford-area organizations receiving Foundation grants are:

--Almada Lodge - Times Farm Camp Corporation

--Antiquarian and Landmarks Society, Inc.

--Boys and Girls Clubs of Hartford, Inc.

--Camp Courant, Inc.

--Capital Region Workforce Development Board, Inc.

--Cayasco, Inc.

--Center City Churches, Inc.

--Central Area Health Education Center, Inc.

--Chamber Music Plus, Inc.

--Christian Activities Council

--Connecticut Pre-Engineering Program

--ConnectiKids, Inc.

--Greater Hartford Consortium for Higher Education 

--Hartford Stage Company

--Hill-Stead Museum

--Organized Parents make a Difference, Inc.

--Renesselaer Hartford Graduate Center, Inc.

--South Arsenal Neighborhood Development Corporation

--University of Hartford

--Village for Families and Children

--Young Womens Christian Association of the Hartford Region, Inc.

The Aetna Foundation is the independent charitable and philanthropic arm of Aetna Inc. Founded in 1972, the Foundation seeks to help build healthy communities by funding initiatives that improve the quality of life where our employees and customers work and live. Since 1980, the Aetna Foundation has contributed more than $260 million in grants, scholarships and social investments. The Foundation's giving is focused on reducing racial and ethnic disparities in health care. In 2003, Aetna's philanthropic giving totaled $16.5 million. Additional information about the Aetna Foundation is available at www.aetna.com/foundation.

As one of the nation's leading providers of health care, dental, pharmacy, group life, disability and long-term care benefits, Aetna puts information and helpful resources to work for its approximately 13.3 million medical members, 11.2 million dental members, 8.1 million pharmacy members and 12.4 group insurance members to help them make better informed decisions about their health care and protect their finances against health-related risks. Aetna provides easy access to cost effective health care through a nationwide network of more than 618,000 health care professionals, including over 370,000 primary care and specialist doctors and 3,783 hospitals. For more information, please visit www.aetna.com. (Figures as of March 31, 2004)