ASTELLAS USA FOUNDATION PRESS RELEASES

Astellas USA Foundation has provided a $150,000 grant to World Food Program USA (WFP USA) to help support a year-long project in Colombia that will provide health services, nutrition support and training for 1,000 women and children who are victims of violence.

For the fourth consecutive year, Astellas USA Foundation will continue its partnership with the United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign to help support the delivery of measles vaccines to children in Latin America. Funding provided by Astellas USA Foundation to the Shot@Life campaign has been used to vaccinate more than 300,000 children in Latin America against measles, as well as help support disease monitoring and risk surveillance that are both essential processes in ensuring that the most vulnerable children are vaccinated.

Project Lead The Way (PLTW), a national nonprofit organization that provides transformative educational experiences for K-12 students and teachers, announced today that 26 rural Illinois middle and high schools will begin new computer science, engineering and biomedical science-focused programs this school year, thanks to $1 million in multi-year grant funding made possible by Astellas USA Foundation. The grants are part of Astellas USA Foundation’s Rural Spark Project^TM which seeks to change STEM education in targeted rural areas for middle and high school students by supporting teacher training and exciting hands-on learning opportunities in the classroom and the community.

125 girls have registered for the second annual STEMGirls Summer Camp hosted by the iBIO Institute’s EDUCATE Center in partnership with Waukegan to College and Andrew Cooke Magnet Elementary School. The Summer Camp, held in Waukegan, will enhance summer STEM exploration for the 3rd-8th grade participants. Camp programming consists of fun hands-on activities, sessions with STEM professionals and field trips. The Summer Camp is made possible through generous support by Astellas USA Foundation (Northbrook, IL) and others.

For the third consecutive year, Astellas USA Foundation will continue to help support the delivery of measles vaccines to children in Latin America. To date, funding provided by the Astellas USA Foundation to the Shot@Life campaign of the United Nations Foundation has been used to help immunize more than 200,000 children in Latin America against measles as well as provide disease monitoring and surveillance that are essential to ensure that hardest to reach and most vulnerable children are vaccinated.

Imagine a room where a child with Autism can feel safe, or a teenager with Asperger's can relax his mind through a multi-sensory experience, or an adult with Down Syndrome can feel in control and make choices independently. Through technology and innovative design, the Snoezelen^® room is a controlled multi-sensory environment that helps to create a therapeutic alliance between the participant and staff as well as a safe place to develop life skills.

As part of its Science WoRx™ STEM education platform, Astellas USA Foundation announced a $1 million grant to Project Lead The Way (PLTW), a national nonprofit organization that provides transformative educational experiences for K-12 students and teachers. The grant will provide PLTW's computer science, engineering and biomedical science programs to middle schools and high schools in rural Illinois beginning with the 2017-18 school year.

Astellas USA Foundation announced it is providing a $50,000 grant to the West Point Association of Graduates to encourage, empower and educate disadvantaged students in the fields of Science, Engineering, Math and Technology (STEM) through the West Point Center for Leadership and Diversity in STEM. This program focuses on introducing STEM to students at the pre-college level, supporting cadets studying STEM at West Point, and retaining STEM talent for West Point, the Army, and the nation.

Astellas USA Foundation has named Moyra Knight as president, transitioning from Jeffrey A. Winton, outgoing Astellas USA Foundation president. Winton led the Foundation since 2014. Knight has served as an Astellas USA Foundation advisory committee member since 2014.

Starlight Children's Foundation and Astellas USA Foundation are partnering to advance children's health and education through technology with the placement of three VGo robots at MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston. Hospital staff and representatives from Astellas USA Foundation and Starlight gathered at the facility today to unveil and celebrate the new technology.

More than 70 girls have registered for the first-ever Stellar Girls STEM Summer Camp hosted by the iBIO Institute's EDUCATE Center and Waukegan to College. The Summer Camp, held in Waukegan, will enhance summer STEM exploration for the 3rd-8th grade participants.

Starlight Children's Foundation and Astellas USA Foundation are partnering to advance children's health and education through technology with the placement of two VGo robots at The Children's Center Rehabilitation Hospital in Bethany, Oklahoma. Patients and staff gathered at the facility today to unveil and celebrate the new technology.

Starlight Children's Foundation and Astellas USA Foundation are partnering to advance children's health and education through technology with the placement of a new VGo robot at Los Angeles Country + USC Medical Center in Los Angeles. Patients, staff and representatives from Astellas USA Foundation and Starlight gathered at the facility today to officially unveil and demonstrate the new technology.

Starlight Children's Foundation and Astellas USA Foundation are partnering to advance children's health and education through technology with the placement of two VGo robots at Rush Children's Hospital at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Patients, staff and representatives from Astellas USA Foundation gathered at the facility today to officially unveil and celebrate the new technology.

Have Dreams, a local nonprofit that helps children, teens and young adults with autism improve their abilities to learn, function independently and socialize, recently received a $20,000 grant from Astellas USA Foundation to provide Have Dreams participants the opportunity to cultivate an outdoor vegetable and herb garden. A year-round autism-specific curriculum will help participants increase their healthy eating habits by learning how to plant, maintain and harvest the garden, prepare vegetables and herbs they grow themselves and incorporate these and other healthy foods into their daily diet.

Astellas USA Foundation and Starlight Children's Foundation announced today the completion of two new, state-of-the-art healing environments that will support the health and wellness of thousands of pediatric patients and their families at The Children's Hospital at OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City and Advocate Children’s Hospital – Park Ridge in the Chicago-area.

The Crossroads Community Outreach Foundation (CCOF) recently received $25,000 for its P.S. Science program, thanks to a grant from Astellas USA Foundation.

The Astellas USA Foundation announced today the launch of its new website featuring an improved grant application portal for U.S.-based nonprofit 501c(3) organizations seeking contributions that support programs of Health and Well Being, STEM Education and Disaster Response.

The Astellas USA Foundation today announced joining the American Red Cross Disaster Responder Program, which gathers donations in advance of major disasters to help ensure an immediate response to those affected by disasters.

The Astellas USA Foundation is partnering with Stupid Cancer by providing a grant to support Instapeer, the first mobile app dedicated to ending isolation among young adults impacted by cancer. Stupid Cancer anticipates more than 50,000 users adopting Instapeer by 2016.

The Astellas USA Foundation today reaffirmed its commitment to inspiring the next generation of scientists by awarding grants to the Museum of Science and Industry, Science Buddies and the iBIO Institute’s Stellar Girls program. The three contributions total a collective $200,000 and will enable greater access to students across the nation, with a focus on the Chicago area. These three organizations utilize hands-on educational and mentoring initiatives to encourage students in grades K-12 to pursue careers in Science, Engineering, Technology and Math (STEM).

The United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life Campaign, which helps expand access to life-saving childhood vaccines globally, has partnered with the Astellas USA Foundation, a non-profit corporation, to help support the delivery of measles vaccines to children in Latin America, many living in hard-to-reach locations. The Astellas USA Foundation will provide a monetary donation to advance this mission.