BOSTON and WELLESLEY, Mass., Dec.
5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On November 30, the Boston Celtics and Sun Life
Financial completed the third annual #SunLifeDunk4Diabetes
campaign, raising $75,000 for the
YMCA of Greater Boston's Diabetes
Prevention Program, an education course that helps at risk adults
avoid and reverse the lifestyle and nutrition factors that can
cause type 2 diabetes.
Throughout the month of November, National Diabetes Awareness
Month, each Celtics dunk raised $1,000 for the YMCA's program. This year's dunk
total was 40, with an additional $25,000 matched from the Boston Celtics Shamrock
Foundation. Sun Life also ran a widespread social media campaign,
which resulted in an additional $1
for every #SunLifeDunk4Diabetes hashtag on Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram. At the end of the month, the hashtag had been posted
more than 10,000 times, which brought the grand total donation for
the campaign to $75,000.
Some of the month's top dunkers were Amir Johnson, Avery
Bradley, and Tyler Zeller,
with Al Horford delivering four
dunks in a single game against the San Antonio Spurs on
November 25.
"With our friends and partners at Sun Life and the YMCA we are
excited to wrap up another successful Sun Life Dunk for Diabetes
program," said Ted Dalton, Senior VP
of Corporate Partnerships and Business Development for the Boston
Celtics. "It is great to see our players play an active role on the
court to raise money for the YMCA of Greater Boston's Diabetes Prevention
program."
"The Celtics have delivered on dunks once again," said
Dan Fishbein, MD, President of Sun
Life Financial U.S. "Our partnership continues to focus on the
health and wellness of communities in and around Boston. Type 2 diabetes is preventable, and
we've seen that the best way to combat it is through educational
resources like the Y's Diabetes Prevention Program. We are eager to
continue our support of the program nationally."
Along with the #SunLifeDunk4Diabetes campaign, Sun Life is
expanding support of the YMCA on a national level to bring the Y's
Diabetes Prevention Program to more communities around the country.
Currently, the program is available at 1,500 sites in 45 states
throughout the U.S. and has served over 44,000 people. Since 2013,
Sun Life has donated over $700,000 to
the YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program, including local support to
launch the program in both Boston
and Kansas City in 2014.
"The YMCA of Greater Boston is
fortunate to have such wonderful partners in the Boston Celtics and
Sun Life as we work together to reduce the number of individuals
diagnosed with type 2 diabetes," said James
Morton, CEO of the YMCA of Greater
Boston. "We are so grateful for the support of Sun Life, the
Boston Celtics and all the many Celtics fans who joined the
#SunLifeDunk4Diabetes campaign through social media."
Partnerships with the YMCA and the Boston Celtics are part of
Sun Life's global commitment to fighting diabetes and advocating
for health and wellness. Later this month, Sun Life will announce
the launch of its diabetes grant program, which supports community
organizations that address diabetes care, prevention, and
education. Sun Life has donated over $17 million to programs focused on diabetes
prevention in the U.S. and globally.
Up next for Sun Life, the Celtics, and the YMCA in New England
is the Fit to Win program, a four-week event that helps grade
school kids incorporate fitness, nutrition, and healthy living
activities into their daily routines. In the coming year the
program will expand throughout New England, including Greater Boston, Southern Maine, and Hartford, Connecticut.
To learn more about type 2 diabetes and how Sun Life is fighting
the disease, visit
www.sunlife.com/usdiabetes.
To learn more about the YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program, visit
www.ymca.net/diabetes-prevention.
About the Boston Celtics
A charter member of the Basketball Association of America (which
evolved into the National Basketball Association) since 1946, the
Boston Celtics have won a record 17 NBA Championships, including
eight (8) in a row from 1959-1966, winning their first title in
1957 and their most recent in 2008. The Celtics have long stood for
equality, and respect, including hiring the first African American
coach and starting the first all black starting five. In addition,
35 former Celtics players, management or staff have been inducted
into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In December 2002, the team returned to local
ownership for the first time since 1963. For more information, log
on to www.celtics.com.
About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services
organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth
products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Sun
Life Financial has operations in a number of markets worldwide,
including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong
Kong, the Philippines,
Japan, Indonesia, India, China,
Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of September 30, 2016, the Sun Life Financial group
of companies had total assets under management of $908 billion. For more information please visit
www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New
York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the
ticker symbol SLF.
In the United States, Sun Life
Financial is one of the largest group benefits providers, serving
more than 60,000 employers in small, medium, and large workplaces
across the country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of products and
services in the U.S. includes Disability and Absence Management,
Life, Dental and Vision, Voluntary, and Stop-Loss insurance. This
includes the acquisition of Assurant Employee Benefits in Q1 2016.
For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.
About the YMCA of Greater
Boston
Founded in 1851, the YMCA of Greater
Boston is a cause-driven organization committed to
developing youth to their highest potential, encouraging healthy
living and promoting social responsibility in the communities we
serve. We welcome men and women, boys and girls of all incomes,
faiths and cultures. One of the largest urban YMCAs in the country
and Boston's largest provider of
social services for children and families, the Greater Boston YMCA
network of services includes 75 facilities and program centers
serving over 150,000 men, women and children in more than 40
eastern Massachusetts communities.
For more information, visit www.ymcaboston.org.
Media Contacts:
Devon Portney Fernald
Sun Life Financial
781-416-7151
devon.portney.fernald@sunlife.com
Heather Walker
Boston Celtics
617-854-8072
hwalker@celtics.com
Alexa Marsh
Teak Media
617-269-7171
alexa@teakmedia.com
SLPC 28001
11/16 Exp 11/21
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SOURCE Sun Life Financial