8.18.2008 - 09:48am ET

(CSRwire) CAMBRIDGE,MA. - August 18, 2008 - Genzyme Corporation, a world leading biotechnology company, today announced that it awarded more than $100,000 in community grants and sponsorships in the third quarter of this year to support 10 non-profit organizations located in areas throughout the United States where Genzyme has operations. The grants are designed to further science education and access to health programs that are consistent with Genzyme's commitment to encouraging innovation in science and addressing areas of unmet medical need.

"Through the grants that we awarded this quarter, Genzyme continues to strengthen many of its longstanding partnerships with community health and education programs," said Jim Kean, corporate controller at Genzyme and a member of the Genzyme Charitable Grants Committee."We support these programs because we believe that they empower people to take ownership of their personal well-being and health."

Health Services and Education
Genzyme awarded nearly $11,000 to SMOC Head Start, Framingham, Massachusetts. Headstart provides a comprehensive, early education program for preschool age children from low-income families. The children also receive health, dental health, nutrition, special education and mental health services. Genzyme's grant directly supports Headstart's hearing detection screening. Headstart purchased three Otoacoustic Emission screeners to quickly and accurately detect potential hearing impairments in the children with the Genzyme award.

Women's Health and Well-Being
Genzyme awarded the Woman's Lunch Place in Boston Massachusetts with a $15,000 grant to help provide poor and homeless women with nutritious meals to promote their health and emotional well being. Better access to healthy food has been shown to reduce the incidences of diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

Genzyme also contributed more than $3,700 to the Cambridge Massachusetts Women's Initiative. The program provides a support service program for 150 at-risk women who reside in Cambridge homeless shelters. Genzyme is helping to support three programs that are designed to help enhance the women's sense of self-worth and help them to set and achieve goals.

Other grants awarded this quarter include:

Allston Brighton Community Development Corp. / Allston-Brighton

Crittenton Women's Union / Boston

The Greater Boston Food Bank / Boston

Hearts and Noses Clown Troupe / Boston

Little Brothers/Friends of the Elderly / Boston

Metrowest Free Medical Program, Inc. / Framingham

ReadBoston / Boston

Employee-Directed Volunteer Efforts
In addition to the community grants, Genzyme awarded more than $65,000 in the third quarter of this year to 25 organizations globally as part of its G.I.V.E (Genzyme Invests in Volunteer Efforts) program. G.I.V.E. was created nine years ago to encourage employee-directed volunteer efforts. During this time, Genzyme has supported more than 200 organizations through this program. The unrestricted grants range between $1,000 and $10,000, and are awarded to eligible charitable organizations for which teams of Genzyme employees volunteer. Many Genzyme employees also offer their time by serving on the boards of local non-profit companies.

Charitable organizations located in towns and cities worldwide in which Genzyme has operations are encouraged to apply for financial assistance through Genzyme Community Relations. More information about Genzyme's community investments, including how to apply for funding or request volunteers, is available on the website at www.genzyme.com/commitment/commitment_home.asp


About Genzyme
One of the world's leading biotechnology companies, Genzyme is dedicated to making a major positive impact on the lives of people with serious diseases. Since 1981, the company has grown from a small start-up to a diversified enterprise with more than 10,000 employees in locations spanning the globe and 2007 revenues of $3.8 billion. In 2007, Genzyme was chosen to receive the National Medal of Technology, the highest honor awarded by the President of the United States for technological innovation.

With many established products and services helping patients in nearly 90 countries, Genzyme is a leader in the effort to develop and apply the most advanced technologies in the life sciences. The company's products and services are focused on rare inherited disorders, kidney disease, orthopaedics, cancer, transplant, and diagnostic testing. Genzyme's commitment to innovation continues today with a substantial development program focused on these fields, as well as immune disease, infectious disease, and other areas of unmet medical need.

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