5.14.2008 - 01:52pm ET

(CSRwire) INDIANAPOLIS, May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Thousands of Eli Lilly and Company employees in nearly 50 nations are rolling up their sleeves today to help address local community needs in celebration of Lilly's first-ever Global Day of Service, possibly the largest corporate volunteer initiative to ever take place on one day.

Beginning at sunrise in New Zealand, Lilly employees from Algeria to Venezuela will be donating time and energy to improve the health and
well-being of communities around the world. In Turkey, employees are planting trees to assist with reforestation efforts. In China, employees will walk the Great Wall to raise funds to fight multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. And in Indianapolis, Lilly's headquarters, the company has partnered with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and more than 50 local community organizations to participate in a massive one-day city makeover.


(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080515/CLW110A-a )
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080515/CLW110A-b )



More than 8,400 Indianapolis-area employees are participating in 60 beautification projects, which include:

-- painting more than a half-mile of outdoor murals, including a 1,230-foot long wall that may create a new Guinness Book of World Record for the largest paint-by-number mural

-- planting 2,000 trees and 6,000 other plantings

-- enhancing 16 medians

-- removing 24 acres of invasive plants from public areas

-- building Habitat for Humanity house frames for three homes

-- working with 19 local schools (mostly IPS), Boy Scouts of Greater Indianapolis, Indy Parks and United Way of Central Indiana on other projects benefiting our central Indiana community


"I can think of no better way to celebrate Lilly's 132nd year in business than this Global Day of Service," said Lilly CEO and President John Lechleiter. "We are dedicated to developing breakthrough products that improve the lives of patients. However, we know that the health of people and, more broadly, of communities, is about more than just medicine. That is why Lilly is committed to collaborative efforts -- like the Day of Service -- that go beyond medicine to strengthen the fabric of our communities and help the patients we serve."

Lilly's Global Day of Service will serve as the signature event for the company's "Hands and Hearts" program, which was launched in 2007 to enhance and encourage employee involvement with nonprofit organizations. In 2007, Lilly's philanthropic contributions totaled about $315 million, including about $240 million in products for patient assistance programs and international humanitarian causes. Lilly's total 2007 giving represents about 6 percent of its adjusted income before taxes and has positioned Lilly once again as one of the most charitable companies in the world.

More information about the Lilly Global Day of Service, including project descriptions and photos, is available online at www.lillymedia.com.

About Lilly
Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of first-in-class and best-in-class pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers -- through medicines and information -- for some of the world's most urgent medical needs. Additional information about Lilly is available at www.lilly.com.

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