The Merck Company Foundation announced today a round of 30 "Neighbor of Choice" grants, totaling $809,000, to organizations throughout New Jersey. The Merck Company Foundation formerly focused its New Jersey Neighbor of Choice (NJ NOC) grants program to organizations near its major operations centers. In light of its recent merger with Schering-Plough, including the merger of the two companies' charitable activities, Merck has now expanded its NJ NOC program throughout the State. The expansion comes at a time when funding for instrumental community groups is decreasing and the needs of New Jersey residents are increasing.

The NJ NOC community grants program provides support for philanthropic initiatives that are consistent with Merck's strategic priorities and interests and that address critical community and quality of life issues. Grantees from the latest round include groups active in youth development (e.g. $50,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of Trenton), health (e.g. $40,000 to the Parker Family Health Center in Monmouth County), hunger and nutrition (e.g. $50,000 to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey), social services (e.g. $30,000 to Ocean County Legal Assistance), the environment (e.g. $50,000 to the Nature Conservancy) and the arts (e.g. $25,000 to the Union County Arts Center). A full list of the 30 grantees is available on the Merck Web site at http://www.merck.com/corporate-responsibility/philanthropy/the-merck-company-foundation.html.

"The Merck Company Foundation is very excited to demonstrate our continued and expanded commitment to the New Jersey communities that play such an important role in our success," said Ellen Lambert, executive vice president of The Merck Company Foundation.

"Both Schering-Plough and Merck have a proud tradition of good citizenship in the Garden State and we see the expansion of the Neighbor of Choice program as an effective means for us to listen as a corporate neighbor and respond to the needs identified by nonprofits throughout the State."

Grant applications for the NJ NOC grants program are reviewed semi-annually with the next call for applications due in the spring of 2010. This latest round of NJ NOC grants intentionally casts a wider net to reflect the broader presence of the company throughout New Jersey given the recently completed merger with Schering-Plough.

About The Merck Company Foundation

The Merck Company Foundation is a U.S.-based, private charitable foundation. Established in 1957 by the global research-driven pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., Inc., the Foundation is funded entirely by the company and is Merck's chief source of funding support to qualified non-profit, charitable organizations. Since its inception, The Merck Company Foundation has contributed more than $560 million to support important initiatives that address societal needs and are consistent with Merck's overall mission to enhance the health and well-being of people around the world. For more information, visit www.merckcompanyfoundation.org.

About Merck

Today's Merck is working to help the world be well. Through our medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and consumer and animal products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to healthcare through far-reaching programs that donate and deliver our products to the people who need them. Merck. Be Well. For more information, visit www.merck.com.

Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc.

At Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, we are unified around our purpose: We use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. For more than 130 years, we have brought hope to humanity through the development of important medicines and vaccines. We aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world – and today, we are at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions that advance the prevention and treatment of diseases in people and animals. We foster a diverse and inclusive global workforce and operate responsibly every day to enable a safe, sustainable and healthy future for all people and communities. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

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